


Move together

by Nothesc, stressedoutteenager



Category: SKAM (TV)
Genre: Co-Written, F/M, Yousana AU, famous!yousana
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-04
Updated: 2017-08-19
Packaged: 2018-12-11 00:51:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 15
Words: 60,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11703348
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nothesc/pseuds/Nothesc, https://archiveofourown.org/users/stressedoutteenager/pseuds/stressedoutteenager
Summary: World famous actress Sana Bakkoush is excited about filming her new movie until she finds out that they’ve casted model Yousef Acar as her love interest. What starts as a confrontation  will turn into something completely unexpected when they realize that moving in the same direction is a lot easier than either of them could have ever imagined.





	1. Chapter 1

“What is this?!” **  
**

“Uh…the new script of your movie?”

“Don’t play with me, Agnes. Since when has my character a love interest?”

Sana loves being an actress. She loves starting new projects, getting to know the new crew and her character. However, there are things regarding her job that she does not like too much. Like last minute changes in the script that seem completely unnecessary to her. So when she finds out that they have introduced a new character and that it’s no other than a love interest, the first thing she does is storming into her agent’s office to ask for an explanation.

“It just got added. Why? What’s wrong with a love interest?”, Agnes knows that Sana doesn’t like last minute changes but still she hopes she can find a way to calm her down.

“There’s nothing wrong with a love interest, when it makes sense to the story. I don’t think that a love interest is necessary in this movie”

“Sana, I think the writers know what they’re doing.”, Sana’s agent says calmly. Someone here has to be.

“I just don’t understand why the new character can’t just be a friend. Why does it have to be a boyfriend?”

“I see your point but it’s too late to change now. They’ve already cast the role!”

“Wait, what? Who?”, Sana asks frowning, she hasn’t seen anyone new on set.

“It’s a newcomer. You might have heard of him anyway. Yousef Acar.”

“Yousef Acar? Wasn’t he a model? Does he even know how to act?” Sana can’t believe this.

“Let’s hope he does or it’s going to be a long three months of filming.”

“Great, so not only have they introduced a totally unnecessary love interest but they also casted an egocentric model who doesn’t even know how to act for it” Sana says exasperated, she’s put so much effort into this project for it to be ruined by an amateur, even if she knows everyone deserves a chance.

“Sana, don’t you think you’re being prejudiced now? You’re usually not like this.”

“I don’t have anything against models, I just don’t think that he’s ready for a big movie like this.” Is she being too harsh? She only wants the movie to turn out really good.

“So what are you saying?”, Agnes asks Sana, waiting for a clear request Sana obviously has.

“That maybe he shouldn’t have so many scenes. Most of them aren’t really necessary for the plot. When I’m searching for my long lost sister I’m not looking for a boyfriend, I’m just looking for someone that can help me find her in that foreign country.” Sana really can’t hide her annoyance in that last sentence. She loves a good romantic plot like the next person but in this movie, when it’s about sisterly love, it’s honestly not necessary.

“But Sana, if they cut those scenes, they would be cutting your scenes too. Do you realize that?”

“Yes, I do. But it’ll be better in the big picture. I’ll gladly have less scenes if that means the story doesn’t turn into a huge cliche”   
When she got the script to this movie Sana instantly loved it and really doesn’t want it to be ruined by something like this.

“Alright, if it means so much to you .. I’ll talk to the writers and see what we can do.” Agnes knows how Sana always tries to make every single one of her projects as great as she can. If she didn’t believe that this is the right choice, she wouldn’t be so adamant.

“Thank you Agnes, you know you’re my favorite agent”, Sana says cheerfully as she turns around and leaves the room.

“I’m your only agent!”, She hears Agnes say after her

 

-x-

 

Yousef had never thought about acting. Being completely honest, he had never thought about modeling either, that had been just his way of trying to help his parents. But he really liked his job. So when his agent told him that they were thinking about him as the love interest of a new movie he just couldn’t say no. The fact that the main character was played by the one and only Sana Bakkoush didn’t hurt either.

While the thought of working with Sana Bakkoush, on a real movie set, is exciting to him, Yousef can’t stop worrying. He’s never acted before and he really looks up to Sana. She’s from Oslo, as Yousef is, and she has managed to make a name for herself in the Hollywood industry. The last thing Yousef wants is to screw up and end up looking like a complete idiot in front of her. And of course, he wouldn’t want to see the project ruined because of his inexperience.

Yousef has been on sets before. He is a model, not only did he do photoshoots but also short advertisement in video form. However, the set for a movie like this is completely different. He is overwhelmed the first time he sets foot on the set. People running around trying to get the props perfect, adjusting lights, rolling cameras to the right position. Needless to say Yousef feels unsure of what to do.

“Who are you?”, Yousef hears from behind him and quickly spins around to be faced with a guy who looks at him skeptically.

“Uh…I’m Yousef, Yousef Acar? I play Hakan, the love interest in the movie.”, he answers, hoping that he didn’t sound unsure of that fact.

“You shouldn’t be here. The writers are waiting for you”

“Oh, where should I go, then?” Yousef wonders why they would want to see him now but decides not to ask. He would find out soon enough.

“Follow that hallway, second door to the left”

It’s not hard to find the right room. A sign on the door says ‘Writers room’. Still, why does Yousef feel like it’s the wrong room? Even when it’s painfully obvious that that’s not the case. Taking a deep breath, looking down on himself to check if he’s presentable, Yousef lifts his hand and knocks.

“Come in!”, he hears and finally opens the door.

He did not know what to expect. How could a writers room look like? Well, he’s still surprised to see three people, two men and a woman, sitting at a big table, with laptops in front of them. It’s a relatively big room and has huge windows. Why is Yousef concentrating on insignificant things like this? Because he’s too nervous to do something that could go wrong.

“You must be Yousef.”, one of the men says. Yousef knows the names of everyone in this room but right now he’s not able to remember them.

Yousef nods and steps closer to shake each person’s hand.

“It’s nice to meet you.”

The woman smiles at him. “Likewise.”

“I’ve been told that you were waiting for me?” He attempts to sound confident and not like he has no clue of what he’s doing here.

“Yes. We wanted to welcome you into the crew.”, the younger one of the two men says with a smile.

“And also give you this, it’s the new script”, the woman adds, holding out a stack of paper to Yousef.

“New script?” The confusion is clear to be seen on his face.

“Yes. There have been a few changes.” Changes?

“Oh, okay. I got the script just yesterday evening so I thought..” Yousef had to learn quite a lot of lines since yesterday evening. They would not start filming today, at least he wouldn’t, but he needs to rehearse.

“Yes, but the main actress made a request to which we changed some things.”, the older guy says.

A request to change the script last minute? Why would that happen?

“Something I should be worried about?”

“No, just that we had to cut four of your scenes”

“For something in particular?” He just doesn’t understand why they would change things so shortly before the start of filming.

“The actress was just not comfortable with those”

Not comfortable? She’s an actress. Shouldn’t she be used to have a love interest in the movies? He probably has seen all her movies so he knows that for sure. Then what is the problem? It’s not like there was some intimate scene that could make her uncomfortable, he would’ve understood that. But that Sana made an explicit request to shorten those scenes or take them out completely gave Yousef a feeling of disappointment. He thought that Sana was the type of girl that wouldn’t let the fame get to her head. Clearly, he was wrong.He just can’t grasp it. Sana already plays the main character of the movie. Why would she want to take away from other actor’s screentime? It’s not like he cared that much about screentime. He only wants to enjoy the experience and do his job. But still. It’s his first acting job and the first thing he is told is that he’ll be in less scenes than he thought he would be in and that the reason for that is that “the actress was just not comfortable with those”. How is he supposed to not care? He can’t help but feel sad. He was really looking forward to working with Sana and learning from her. But now, he’s not so sure anymore.One of the reasons he was so excited to work on this movie was that Sana Bakkoush is playing the main character. Someone who Yousef thought was not like many other Hollywood-actors. Well, she had just proved that she’s like the rest.

“Okay…I should get going then, work on the new script and so on”, Yousef says, he really needs to get out of that room.

“Of course, go get to work”

“Thank you again for choosing me”

“We’re sure we made the right choice with you, just don’t make us be wrong about it”

Yousef leaves the room and closes the door behind him while looking at the new script in his hands. He had to read all those pages just yesterday and now he can do it all over, with ‘a few’ changes. Turning the pages Yousef tries to see which parts have been rewritten or taken out completely. He’s so focused on what he’s reading that he doesn’t see the person turning the corner at the same time he is until he bumps into them, the script almost falling to the floor.

“Oh, I’m sorr..”, he looks up from his script to see who he bumped into. His eyes land on the girl he has been thinking about in the past ten minutes. The girl that made the writers change the script last minute and take away from his scenes. He’s looking at no other than Sana Bakkoush. A script in her hand, coffee in her other hand. He thought their first meeting would have been different.

“I’m sorry.”, he finally says. “I was focused on the script and I didn’t see you”

“It’s fine, I wasn’t paying attention either”

“Hi, I’m…”

“I know who you are” Sana interrupts him “You’re the love interest”

“Well, I prefer Yousef, if you don’t mind”, He says annoyed, he’s getting tired of everyone referring to him as just the love interest.

Sana raises her eyebrows at the boy. He prefers Yousef? Well, Sana prefers a lot of things, like not having a love interest for her character when it’s not necessary, for example, and still there she is, accepting the facts. She wants to reply with a snarky comment, but she knows that wouldn’t be wise. She’ll have to spend a lot of time with that boy and the least she can do is try to be polite, even if she really doesn’t feel like doing that.

“Okay, Yousef”, She says putting emphasis on his name “I guess I’ll see you soon”


	2. Chapter 2

Technically, Yousef knows the way from his dressing room to the main set. But somehow, in the past two days, he has managed to go down the wrong hallway more than just once.

Now, he is sure he’s going the right way because he can hear Sana’s voice.

“I’m telling you Elias, there shouldn’t be a love interest”, Yousef stops dead on his tracks as he hears the last two words, those words have been following him since he arrived.

He knows he shouldn’t eavesdrop, especially when it’s his co-star the one who’s talking, but she’s talking about him so that kind of makes it less bad, doesn’t it?

“The script was perfectly fine before!” It’s been two days but Sana still doesn’t see why the initial change was necessary.

If it was a silly little detail Sana wouldn’t be this bothered by it. But now, whenever she thinks of this new script, whenever she reads parts of it, she can’t keep still. This is why she feels like she can’t sit any longer and stands up. She sighs and turns around to walk up and down her dressing room but freezes when she sees the guy standing at the door.

“Elias, wait a moment”, She says to her brother before covering the phone with her hand to speak to Yousef. “Do you need something or are you just eavesdropping?”

“What? Me? No. I just came here to tell you that everyone is waiting for you on set. Are you coming or what?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there in a minute.”, Sana answers, not completely believing him. She turns away and lifts the phone to her ear again.

“Elias, I need to go now. Talk to you later!”

 

-x-

 

He hates to admit it but she’s great, she’s more than great. He knew she was a good actress, but seeing her here, filming right in front of him…she’s definitely not just good.

Arms crossed in front of his chest, Yousef tilts his head slightly to the side and watches. He can’t lie, he can learn a lot from Sana Bakkoush. She’s out here owning the room, having everyone under her spell, even after making them wait. It might have been just a minute but she made them wait.

He has to be honest, he’s still bitter about the fact that she’s not how he thought she would be, and that she clearly doesn’t want him there at all. But that doesn’t mean that she’s not still one of the best actresses nowadays. That brings anxious feelings again, he doesn’t want to mess it up, he doesn’t want to give Sana any more reason to not like him by not being good enough at his job here.

“Cut!…Alright, that was perfect Sana!” the director of the movie congratulates his star “Now we’re going to film the scene where Dounia meets Hakan. Yousef, this is your debut.”

Yousef wrings his hands together and smiles. Do people notice how nervous he is? Or is he successfully hiding this fact? His acting debut will be in front of Sana Bakkoush and one of the best directors in Hollywood. Yeah, no big deal. No need to be nervous. That most people on set are looking at him doesn’t affect him at all.

“Okay, so remember, you bump into each other as she’s trying to read the map and you’re focused on your phone. You apologize and then look at each other’s eyes. There’s a moment of silence and then you, Yousef, say your line.”, Yousef listens to the director’s instructions while nodding, he has rehearsed this in front of the mirror so many times, he shouldn’t have a problem with that.

“Alright, everybody ready?…And action!”

Yousef is standing on his marked spot, his prop phone in his hands and acting like he’s texting someone. He knows that he has to go three steps until he bumps into Sana. Three steps. One.. Two …Three.. He looks up confused. She should have been there, crashing into him but she’s still busy with the map and looking around her.

“And cut!”, the director called Ben shouts, “Okay, you need to be aware of where your partner is, otherwise this doesn’t work.”

Even though the director doesn’t say a name Yousef knows it’s directed at him.

“Let’s do it again. Everyone to their marks. And action!”

Yousef takes a deep breath and starts walking again, this time his steps are longer. Right as he takes the last step he feels Sana’s body colliding against his. Still in character he looks up from his fake phone, a quick apology coming out of his mouth.

As soon as his eyes meet Sana, his nervousness about being in front of the cameras is gone. Completely. But he still can’t say his line. Sana Bakkoush is beautiful, everyone knows that. However, having her stand centimetres in front of you, looking at you with wide eyes and a tiny smile playing on her lips …

“Cut!”, the director shouts once again. Sana breaks her character only then and looks at Yousef with a questioning look. “Yousef, you’re supposed to wait a few seconds to say your line. Not minutes!”, Ben calls.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry…Let’s do it again” Yousef curses himself, he knows exactly what he needs to say, he knows exactly how many seconds he needs to wait before saying his line, but for some reason his mind went completely blank when he looked at her.

Both, Yousef and Sana, go back to their marks and wait for the director to call ‘action’ to begin again.

 

-x-

 

“Cut!” Ben, the director of the movie, shouts exasperated “Yousef, what’s up with you? We’ve done this five times already.”

Yousef looks at him embarrassed. What’s up with him? That’s what he’d like to know too. He doesn’t know why he can’t say his line. He knows it. He’s not even nervous about people looking at him anymore. Then, why everytime he looks at Sana’s eyes he just can’t get the words out?

“Let’s take a break to see if you can put yourself together.” Ben says standing up from his chair and leaving the set followed by his assistant.

Yousef lowers his head, not looking at anyone because he fears to see them all look annoyed or angry with him. He should leave, get fresh air. They’re having a break so he can use it to try and collect himself.

Sana is reluctant to admit it but the guilty look on Yousef’s face kind of breaks her heart. She’s been there. Everyone who has ever acted has been there. The first day is always the most difficult. You feel so much pressure and sometimes even things you know by heart seem impossible to do. That’s why, when she sees Yousef leave the set, his eyes not looking up from the floor, she finds herself following him outside, ready to give him a pep talk.

Stepping outside her eyes need a second to adjust to the light but as soon as that happens, Sana stops walking. Right now, it’s very obvious to her that Yousef is a model. He’s only leaning on the wall, eyes drawn to the ground and the sun shining right on him but he looks like he’s at a photoshoot.

For a moment she can’t seem to bring herself to approach him. She’s still shocked at the unexpected view. So much for giving him a pep talk about how it doesn’t matter if you forget what to say. Shaking her head she stands up straight and confidently walks over to him.

Yousef hears her steps and looks up, narrowing his eyes a little and using his hand to keep the sun away from his face until she’s so close to him that she covers it completely. He thought he would be faced with a very annoyed and angry Sana coming to complain that he should get himself together. What he sees instead takes his breath away, which was the problem in the first place. But who can blame him? Standing there, the sunlight surrounding her and making her look like an angel, Sana would take away anyone’s breath. How was Yousef supposed to be unaffected by her?

“Are you okay?” It takes Yousef a few seconds and several blinks to fully pay attention to her words and once he does he just can’t believe that she’s really asking him if he’s okay.

“Define okay.”

“Oh come on, don’t be self-pity. That wasn’t that bad.”, Sana tries to say in a light tone.

“That wasn’t that bad? Sana, I couldn’t even say a sentence. We made five takes and I couldn’t say my line in any of them.” Yousef laughs humorlessly. Not that bad, for sure.

“Do you know your lines?”, Sana asks him.

“Of course I do. I’ve rehearsed so much that I even know all of your lines.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” She shrugs as if this is something clear as glass.

“Uh…what part of I can’t say a sentence you don’t understand?”, is she making fun of him? Did she not listen?

Sana rolls her eyes at him and sighs. None of this is as horrible as he thinks. But she knows this now, didn’t on her first day either.

“Yousef, it’ll be a problem if you didn’t know your lines. Believe me, I’d be kicking your ass right now if that was the case. But it isn’t. Your problem is that you’re nervous. It’s fine. It’s normal. We’ve all been there.”

“The amazing Sana Bakkoush nervous? I don’t believe it. I’ve seen you on set. It’s as if it comes natural to you.”, Yousef says without thinking about it. But it’s the truth.

It’s funny to Sana, really. Now she’s good at what she’s doing but in the beginning…

“Well, maybe it seems like that now but my first day? I was a mess. I’d say that I was even worse than you. I had worked so hard to get that role, and it wasn’t even a big one, I only had like two or three scenes, but still, it meant a lot to me you know?”. Yousef nods “Well, in the scene I had to say my line and then give the main character a cup of tea. It took me nine takes and two breaks to finally be able to say the line without stuttering. And when I finally said it, do you want to know what happened?”

“You fainted?” Yousef is really immersed in this story. Not only because hearing about her first day helps him calm down but also because Sana is sharing this with him when she doesn’t have to.

“I wish! I spilled the tea on the main actress. She was wearing white, you can imagine how that turned out. We had to postpone the shooting until they found another outfit for her. It was a complete disaster, I thought my career was over.” Laughing about it now is easy, back then not so much.

“But it wasn’t.”, Yousef states, getting hopeful about him messing up now not meaning too much.

“Exactly. It wasn’t. After spilling the tea on the main actress I ran out of there almost crying and she followed me outside. We had this exact same conversation we’re having right now.” Thinking back, this conversation right now seems surreal to Sana. She would have never thought that she’d be in the position to help a co-star the way she was helped on her first day.

“She also spilled tea on her first day?” Somehow, Yousef forgets his worries for a moment. He doesn’t feel as horrible about his mistakes as he did minutes ago.

“No, but she broke her dress trying to stand up. So…forgetting a tiny line? Definitely not the end of the world.”  Holding her hand up with her thumb and index finger close, but not touching, Sana demonstrates what she means.

“You think I’m exaggerating, right?”

Yousef feels ridiculous now. If Sana got over spilling tea on the main actress, he can get over messing up by not saying his lines at the right time.

“Nah, I think you’re behaving like any human would. But seriously Yousef, it’s not a big deal. All you need to do is concentrate on your lines, forget about the people there and if you feel like you’re about to panic, just look at me and take a deep breath”

Look at her, as if that wasn’t the problem.

“Come on, let’s go inside. And this time, I’m sure you’ll do it just fine.”

Sending him one last meaningful look, as if to say you will definitely not mess up now, Sana turns around and starts walking away.

“Sana”, Yousef calls after her making her look at him “Thank you.”

Smiling at him lightly, Sana turns around again and calls to him over her shoulder.

“You can thank me once we get through the scene.”

 

-x-

 

Yousef takes a deep breath. It’s time to say his line, he’s already waited the amount of seconds the script says. He remembers his conversation with Sana and looks at her. This time, the words come out of his mouth in the most natural way.

“Are you okay? You should pay attention while walking, I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”

Sana gets insanely happy when he finally manages, especially in the first take after the break. She looks at him a little perplexed, like the script wants Dounia to, and is ready to deliver her lines.

Knowing that the camera is taking a close shot of Sana, or Dounia’s face, Yousef grins at her broadly. He finally succeeded and he’s sure that only happened thanks to Sana.

He’s not supposed to smile like that. Not now. She never noticed but Yousef’s smile is breathtaking and distracts Sana so much that for a few seconds she can only look at him and start smiling herself.

“Cut!”, Ben shouts. “What’s up with you two today? First Yousef can’t say his lines in time and when he can, Sana can’t!”

Yousef and Sana look at each other and burst out laughing at the same time at what Ben said who can only shake his head. He’s not sure if he preferred when these two didn’t seem to get along.


	3. Chapter 3

When Sana is waiting for her turn to film she likes to listen to music. It helps her calm down, gather her thoughts and be focused when it’s finally her time to act.  **  
**

Now, usually her go-to musician she listens to is Tupac. Sana doesn’t believe there is a better rapper out there. But, today she is in the mood for something a little different. Since her brother Elias told her about this Norwegian Boyband she keeps coming back to listen to them. With her earphones on and moving her head slightly to the rhythm of the music, it’s not until he’s right in front of her that she realizes that Yousef has been trying to say something to her for the past minute.

“Earth to Sana, are you there?”, She hears him saying as she takes her earphones off.

“Yeah, sorry. What did you want?” She really was into the music, Yousef notices.

“Ben said we should be ready, we’re filming in five”

“Sounds like there’s time for one more song, then” Sana puts in one earphone, presses play and then looks up at Yousef, who’s asking her something again.

“Which Tupac song are you listening to?”

“How do you know I listen to Tupac?”, she asks confused, she doesn’t remember mentioning that to him.

“I may have seen your phone screen sometime.” Yousef blushes a little, he didn’t intend to admit that but the words just came out of his mouth before he could do anything to stop them.

“Stalker…And for your information, I’m not listening to Tupac today.” Why is she smiling at the fact that he paid attention, even to such small things?

“Then who are you listening to? Surprise me!”

“Balloon Boys, this really cool Norwegian boyband my brother showed me.”, Sana shares with her co-star.

“Boyband? You?…Wow, I didn’t know the tough Sana Bakkoush was a fangirl.” Yousef is actually really surprised. All he heard her listen to in the past weeks was rap.

Sana rolls her eyes at him. People still have this reaction to boybands without even listening to their songs.

“The fact that you think that listening to a boyband threatens your toughness is not my problem. I can listen to Balloon Boys and still be able to kick your ass!”

Yousef lifts his hands in defense and laughs. How can she sound so serious while saying that laughingly.

“You’re really missing out if you don’t know them, just saying”, Sana mentions while turning up the volume. Music has to be listened to loudly.

“I might need to listen to them, then.” Yousef shrugs.

“Yeah, like I’m going to believe that. Here, listen to them now, take one of my earphones.”

He raises his eyebrows in surprise. Did she really just suggest that? While she’s holding out one of her earphones to him, waiting, he hesitates. Slowly he takes a step towards her, not really sure if she’s being serious or just joking. But when Sana doesn’t lower her hand with the earphone Yousef sits down next to her, leaving quite a bit of space between them and taking it out of her hand. He puts the earphone in his ear and he’s immediately impressed by the music, it sounds really nice. He wouldn’t admit this but he’s already picturing a nice choreography to the upbeat song he’s listening to. Without realizing it, he’s started moving his foot to the beat of the music. His eyes find Sana’s and he sees her looking at him with her eyebrows raised and a smug smile on her lips, she’s clearly enjoying the fact that she was right, the song is indeed good.

Both, Sana and Yousef, nod along to the music and get startled by Ben’s assistant calling their names. At the same time they look up, the earphone slipping off Yousef’s ear.

“You’re up now!”, they hear and stand up.

 

-x-

 

“Are you ready to go, Sana?”, Sana looks up and sees Fariha, the actress that plays her sister in the movie.

If there’s something Sana really likes about her job is when she gets along with the crew, something that usually happens if she’s being honest. LA can get really lonely sometimes, her family still lives in Norway and even though she’s made some friends since she moved there, she still misses having someone to talk and hang out with every day. So, everytime she gets to meet a good cast she takes every chance to spend time with them. It’s not only fun but she can also learn a lot from them.

“Yeah, I’m ready to go.”, Sana answers, packing her phone in her bag and picking it up from her chair.

Yousef, who is still sitting on his chair, right next to Sana, looks from Fariha to Sana. He loves how these two girls seem like sisters even off screen. In the past weeks he’s been here he did not make too many actual friends. He met people, sure, but working hours are so long that none of those people became real friends. In fact, the person he spends most time with is Sana and he’s not sure if they could be considered friends.

“Yousef, are you coming?”, he hears and is pulled out of his thoughts.

Confused he looks up from his phone, which he just stared at for the past minute. Fariha smiles at him, just waiting for an answer. Yousef didn’t know he was invited. Was he or is she just being nice? As an immediate reaction Yousef looks at Sana to see how she reacts. Why? He’s not sure. But when she’s only looking at him with a small smile, not really giving much away with her facial expressions, he looks back at their co-star and nods.

“Of course, if you don’t mind.”, he says.

“What are you talking about? You’re part of the cast, you’re always invited to come”

Yousef can’t hide the smile on his face when he hears Fariha saying that. Ever since he became a model he hasn’t really had many friends in the industry. Modeling is such a competitive job and people don’t really hang out with colleagues. It feels really good being part of a team, of a group of people that do the same as he does for a living, a group of friends.

The three of them walk out of the studio and onto the parking lot. Only then Yousef remembers an important detail.

“Ehh, guys. One thing, though.”, he says which makes both girls turn around to him. He smiles sheepishly: “Well, I usually just walk to work soo…”

“It’s fine, Sana is taking me in her car, you can come with us”, Fariha casually offers.

“Are you sure?”, he asks and his eyes are drawn to Sana. It’s her car, after all. He wouldn’t want to be intruding, especially after they invited him to tag along.

“Just get in the car, Acar”, Sana says, rolling her eyes at the question. They’re just going out to eat something, no big deal. Still, she finds it endearing that that was his reaction and finds herself smiling lightly.

Sana and Fariha stop right next to a dark car parked near the door of the studio. Yousef immediately goes for the back door. Rule number one of carpooling: the one that comes last is the one that has to go in the backseat. Apparently, Fariha doesn’t think the same because she stops him right before he opens the door.

“Wait, you go in the front with Sana, I like it better back there.”, with that Fariha slips into the backseat and closes the door.

Yousef blinks a few times. Okay, then. He has never seen anyone be so excited to sit in the back. But Sana is already sitting in the car, as well, so he just quickly goes to the front and sits down.

Sana looks at the other two people in her car and when she sees that they both have their seatbelts on, she starts the engine.

Suddenly loud music starts playing and the two people that don’t drive with Sana regularly jump at the loudness. Sana can’t help herself and starts laughing. She’s used to it, she loves her music loud. Still, for her co-stars’ sake she turns down the volume a little.

“Wow, when you’re into something, you’re really into something, aren’t you?” Yousef instantly recognizes the song, it’s the same Sana has showed him a few hours before, the one from that Norwegian boyband she likes.

“When something is good, it’s good!” Sana simply says.

“I don’t know if I’d call that good, but okay…”, Yousef tilts his head slightly to look from the radio to Sana.

“Oh, come on. You were totally dancing to it earlier”

“I wasn’t.” Sana is very observant so she really doesn’t buy it.

“You definitely were. I told you, you can admit that a boyband is good without losing your masculinity!” It’s true but the fact that Sana seems to suggest that he doesn’t agree offends him.

“I know I can, it’s just not that good”

“Really? Then why are you tapping your fingers to the beat right now?”, Sana says and makes him look on his hands. She’s right, so he quickly stops.

They get interrupted by Fariha clearing her throat and leaning forward between the two front seats and saying: “Guys, I really don’t want to interrupt your discussion about boybands but I’m really hungry.”

Sana turns around to her friend and quickly nods. She doesn’t say anything to that but start leaving the parking lot. The two girls had talked about where to go to eat so Sana just drives there. It’s a fifteen minute drive but it really doesn’t take long for Sana to mumble along to the music. The song that started playing when she started the engine was the first one of the Balloon Boys’ EP and since nobody bothered to change the music, they’re still listening to them.

Not that anybody seemed to mind. Fariha doesn’t understand any Norwegian but appreciates the nice beat and Yousef, well he might enjoy the music more than he thought he would have. The song that is playing now has a very easy chorus, it’s barely two sentence that keep being repeated several times. That’s probably why, when the chorus comes for the second time, Yousef finds himself singing along. He feels Sana’s eyes briefly on him, she can’t really look at him for long since she’s driving but as he turns to face her, he sees that she keeps looking at him from time to time, probably surprised to hear him singing. He just laughs and shrugs, maybe the boyband is not that bad, maybe they really are good. One thing is sure, it’s a lot of fun singing along to their songs on their way to the restaurant with his two co-stars by his side, especially with the one that showed him the band in the first place.

 

-x-

 

“I’m telling you Sana, you can be pretty scary sometimes” Fariha says taking the last sip of her coke.

They’ve just finished eating. Sana doesn’t really know how it happens but every time she goes out with her castmates they end up talking about stories where Sana calls someone out or just do something that she calls ‘badass’ but they call ‘scary’.

“What? I’m not.”

“Sana please, you know I love you and I know that on the inside you’re a sweetheart but…yeah…I wouldn’t want to be your enemy.” Sana doesn’t have enemies, why would she? That’s why she has to try really hard to not roll her eyes. She knows it’s not meant in a bad way.

“Come on! I may be a little bit severe sometimes but only with those who deserve it.” She looks at her other colleagues looking for support “Guys, a little help here?”

All of them just shrug and look away. Of course they’re on Fariha’s side, they all love to make fun of her and this is just the perfect occasion.

“Whatever, you’re all biased”, Sana says, sighing dramatically. Then she mumbles, so quiet that nobody but her could hear it: “If I was a guy it wouldn’t be considered scary…”

“Okay, okay, if you don’t believe us, your teammates that have known you for quite a long time, then we’ll ask the new guy” Fariha says looking straight at Yousef who was enjoying the conversation maybe a little too much “Yousef, what do you think? Is Sana scary?”

“Well…uh…she did call me ‘the love interest’ the first day on set” Very aware of all the eyes on him, Yousef says this, shrugging.

“You are the love interest.”, Sana just says. He is. What’s the problem?

“Yeah, but I knew your name. And you knew mine. Still, you called me ‘the love interest’.“

“Okay, I didn’t know it was such a big deal…”

Neither of them notice it but while bickering back and forth they switch to Norwegian. Which is weird because all this time they worked together they never did talk in another language but English.

“It’s not. But it would’ve been nice if you had called me Yousef.”

“I did…later”, she honestly did not think about this at all before. Apparently to him it’s important.

“It’s fine. I mean some people are scary and other people are nice and friendly.” Is she detecting sarcasm in Yousef’s sentence? Oh yeah, she is.

“Oh and let me guess, you’re nice and friendly?”, Sana narrows her eyes at her co-star.

“Well, yeah.”, Yousef says with a slight smirk, not thinking much of it.

“Really? And what about coming to my dressing room, standing out there eavesdropping, and don’t tell me you weren’t because you definitely were, and saying ‘are you coming or what?’. Yeah, not too nice, is it?” Sana feels like she has to make a point now and she does have the arguments for it.

Now, Yousef narrows his eyes at his co-star.

“First of all, I wasn’t eavesdropping and second of all they were really waiting for you. I know you’re the star of the movie and everyone is there for you and so on, but still, it’s not cool to make people wait.”, Yousef rambles as if he had these arguments prepared.

Sana laughs humorlessly and raises her eyebrows at this. Is he for real right now?

“The star of the movie? What does that even mean?”, Sana feels herself getting aggravated. She really doesn’t want to think he’s implying she’s a diva but it sure sounds like it.

“Hey, guys!”, one of their castmates get involved in the conversation. Sana and Yousef take away their gazes from each other and look at Mike. “We were just not sure if you two are joking or fighting or whatever. Since, you know, we..”, he points at the four other cast members sitting at the table, “…don’t speak that language.”

It’s only now that Sana notices that they did, in fact, speak Norwegian. She didn’t realize that they did that and from the surprised look on Yousef’s face, Sana can assume that he didn’t either. They got so into the conversation that they kind of forgot the rest of the people around them.

“So…speaking of Norway”, Mike casually continues, unaware of the tensions between Sana and Yousef.

“No one was speaking of Norway, Mike” Sana says still a little bit embarrassed that she had just been caught talking in her native language and especially that she hadn’t even realized she was doing that

“Well, you were speaking Norwegian, same thing” Sana rolls her eyes at her castmate but still, she waits for him to continue “We’ve noticed, I mean all of us have been talking about it actually, that you two seem to really get along. We all know that Sana definitely saved Yousef on his first day, we saw you two talking. So we were wondering, did you know each other before the movie? Since you’re both from Oslo.”

“What? No! Oslo is small, but it’s not that small. We didn’t know each other. I had never seen him before the movie. I barely even knew his name or his work as a model before my agent told me. No, we definitely didn’t know each other…”, Sana answers. She’s still a little affected by how Yousef apparently sees her. The stuck-up actress who makes people wait and is rude to everyone.

“Sana! I think that’s clear already, you can stop.” Yousef says a little offended by her effort to make clear that she couldn’t care less about him.

“Okay…” Mike nods and looks from Sana to Yousef and then back to Sana again with a smirk on his lips “I guess is just natural chemistry then”

 

-x-

 

“So…since Fariha is going with Lea, do you need a ride…or…?”, Sana asks Yousef while walking towards her car.

“Oh…it’s…it’s okay. I can take a taxi or something. I don’t want to bother.”

“Don’t be silly, Yousef. I’ll take you home.” She looks at him with a smirk “Unless you’re afraid of course, since I’m scary and all.”

“Yeah, you are scary. But that’s not a bad thing. I kind of like it.”

Yousef shoots her a look and leads the way to the car. Sana watches him walk a few metres in front of her and finds  herself smiling. Pressing her lips together she follows him.

 

-x-

 

@SanaBakkoush_fan: ‘Spotted. Sana Bakkoush and male co-star leaving cast-dinner together’


	4. Chapter 4

“Good afternoon Sana, Yousef. It’s nice to see you here again.”

“Yeah, we’ve got used to your coffee by now. I’ll have a black coffee and Sana…vanilla latte as always, right?”, Yousef says and looks over to Sana who’s standing right next to him.

Sana looks at him and raises her eyebrows in a surprised manner. She didn’t think he payed any attention to her coffee order. Apparently she was wrong.

“Yes, please.”

Actually, Sana shouldn’t be that surprised about Yousef knowing how she likes her coffee. In the past two months they’ve been going to that coffee shop almost every day. It started spontaneously, Sana was craving a nice vanilla latte and casually mentioned it to Fariha, who told her that she had been talking to Yousef about a new coffee shop that had just opened down the corner. What Sana didn’t expect was that her friend would call Yousef right in that moment and ask him if he still wanted to get that coffee they had been talking about. It ended with Sana and Yousef going to the coffee shop, just the two of them together, after Fariha had changed her mind last minute to work on her lines in the studio. Since that day, Sana and Yousef would go in their afternoon break, have a coffee together, and then walk back to the set just in time to start filming again.

“Wow, look at that. The first day he wrote ‘Joseph’ instead of ‘Yousef’ and now he finally knows your name. I’d say he’s improving!”, Sana says with a smirk before taking a sip of her sweet coffee.

Yousef and Sana both look at the curly-haired barista, standing behind the counter on the other end of the room. Laughing, Yousef puts down his cup on the table and turns to Sana.

“Well, I mean, we’ve been coming here everyday. Also, I’m still kind of offended about that. Do I look like a Joseph to you?”, Yousef says, shaking his head as if his name being Joseph is completely impossible.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know what you look like to me”, Sana tries to be serious but as soon as she sees Yousef’s reaction she bursts out laughing. He has his eyes narrowed at her and dramatically leans back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Oh? What do I look like to you then? Enlighten me, please!”, he says, raising his eyebrows and silently challenging Sana.

“Maybe one day I’ll tell you…Right now your coffee is getting cold and we have to be back in five minutes”

@SanaBakkoush_fan: ‘Sana Bakkoush and co-star Yousef Acar take a break from filming to have coffee together’

 

-x-

 

“Have I ever told you that I worked in a coffee shop once?”

Yousef widens his eyes and raises his eyebrows at Sana’s words. If there’s something that he didn’t expect was one, Sana telling him a fact about her life and two, Sana working in a coffee shop when her coffee knowledge was limited to knowing the difference between a latte and a vanilla latte.

“You did?”

Sana laughs at his surprised tone but nods.

“Yeah, but only for like two weeks. I was so bad at it.” Remembering those two weeks is something Sana doesn’t like to do but looking back on it now she can laugh.

“Wow, I didn’t know that there was something Sana Bakkoush can’t do.” Yousef says jokingly but there’s truth in that sentence. He has not seen anything Sana couldn’t do in the time they were working together.

Sana raises one eyebrow at him and shrugs.

“I could do it, if I wanted to”

“Sure”, Yousef comments, obviously not believing her, or at least enjoying teasing her.

@YAcarfans: ‘Yousef has been seen spending time with actress Sana Bakkoush in between takes’

 

-x-

 

One thing Sana definitely likes most about LA is the weather. It’s almost always sunny and there is no really cold time. LA winter is nothing compared to the cold season in Oslo. So getting coffee in the winter and still being able to feel her fingers while walking out into the ‘winter air’ is very much appreciated by Sana.

Not that she can walk very far from the coffee shop because a girl comes running towards them. At first Sana thinks that she just desperately wants a coffee but when the blonde girl stops right in front of Yousef and her, Sana understands.

“Oh my God. Sana Bakkoush. I mean,… I just… would you maybe take a picture with me?”, the girl speaks so fast that Sana almost can’t understand a word. It helps that the girl holds out her phone.

“Of course!”, Sana says with a smile, “So what’s your name?”, she asks while the girl finds her place next to Sana.

“Katie. I’m Katie.”, she says, already hugging Sana to her side. She’s small but pretty strong, Sana thinks. The girl looks at Sana with wide eyes: “And you’re Sana Bakkoush.”, her gaze wanders towards Yousef who has been watching this scene in front of him with an amused smile.

“Oh God, and you’re Yousef Acar!”

When Katie turns to him, looking really excited with a big smile on her lips, Yousef feels a little overwhelmed. Seeing someone be so happy about seeing him is really nice but contrary to Sana, he’s not used to it.

“Me?…Well, yeah…hi!” Yousef is not really used to get recognized by people on the street, especially not in LA. Yes, he may be a famous model in Norway but this is the first time a fan notices him in the american city.

“Can you maybe get in the picture too? My friend loves you, she’ll be so jealous when I show it to her!” She smiles widely at him, she really seems very excited about provoking her friend’s jealousy.

Yousef laughs and quickly steps on the other side of Katie, giving the camera his best smile.

“You’re such a good model!” that makes Yousef blush a little, he’s definitely not used to that kind of comments

“And he’s not that bad of an actor either, you should totally see our movie when it premieres!”, Sana comments smilingly. Seeing Yousef unsure how to act around a fan is really .. well, cute. He blushed and stumbled over his own words.

“Are you kidding? My friend and I have been following the status of that movie since it was announced. We can’t wait to watch it!” Katie can barely stand still. She’s standing between two of the most talked about people right now and it turns out they’re both really nice. How lucky can a fan be?

“I’m really glad to hear that…Do you maybe want me to sign you something for your friend? I mean…if you want.” Yousef is uncertain, maybe that sounds a little bit egocentric? All he wants is to make that girl’s friend happy, and since apparently she likes him that much the least he can do is do something for her.

“You would? Yes please!” She takes a piece of paper and a pen from her bag and hands them to Yousef with trembling hands, she still can’t believe that she’s meeting two of her favorite people in the world “Her name is Maria!”

“To Maria, I really hope that you like the movie. Thank you for following my work, it means a lot to me. Love, Yousef Acar” he says as he writes it down on the paper “P.S.: Sana Bakkoush is also here and would like to sign this too.”

Yousef glances over to Sana while writing and saying that and can see her smile at him, as well.

This time Sana takes the paper from him and smiles while writing.

“Sana Bakkoush here. Thank you for your support, Maria. You should know that you were the first person your friend Katie thought about as soon as she saw us, you’re lucky to have a friend like her as I’m sure she is to have a friend like you. Always remember that friendship is above all. Love, Sana Bakkoush”

Yousef follows what Sana is writing and when she draws a small heart behind her signature he can’t stop himself from smiling. As if the text she wrote for Katie and Maria is not cute enough she had to take it to another level. His eyes follow as Sana gives the paper to the blonde girl and hugs her one more time.

@Katie.16: ‘I ran into Yousef Acar and Sana Bakkoush today!! I took a photo with them and they signed a paper for my friend.’

@Maria2002: ‘@Katie.16 They both signed it and added some cute messages and even a heart! They’re so great’

@Katie.16: ‘@Maria2002 You should’ve seen them. They were so cute to me and just together ♥’

 

-x-

 

“ ‘You should’ve seen them. They were so cute to me and just together’ and a heart emoji. Sana Bakkoush, is there something you need to tell me?”

Sana looks up from the prop phone she’s holding. For some reason, she can never get used  to those. They’re taking a two minute break in between takes of an emotional scene with Sana’s character Dounia and her sister. Fariha is holding her actual phone in her hand and reading something off Twitter, which she then shows Sana.

Sana steps closer and reads the Tweet herself and looks back up to her co-star.

“Oh, that must be a girl Yousef and I met the other day outside the coffee shop during a break.”, Sana casually mentions and starts smiling when remembering that encounter. It was really sweet.

“Yeah, you two have been taking a lot of breaks together lately.”, Fariha comments with a distinctive tone, trying to imply something.

“Well, you were the one that told us to go to that shop in the first place. You know you can tag along every time you want.”

Fariha grins at her friend, who she thinks is trying to play down what she’s thinking.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude.”, Fariha says. When Sana doesn’t seem to pick up on her change of tone, she feels like rolling her eyes. Her friend usually is very quick to understand.

“Why would you be intruding?”

Sighing Fariha throws up her hands and shakes her head at Sana.

“Sana. I’m trying to be subtle here but you’re clearly not getting it. Are you or are you not dating Yousef?”

Dating Yousef? Sana is so surprised by this question that she can’t do anything but stare at her friend for a few seconds. When she snaps out of it Sana quickly answers.

“What?! Yousef? Yousef and me? Dating? No, no, no, no. I don’t know what you’re talking about. We’re just friends. Maybe not even that…we’re colleagues, co-stars. Co-stars that have coffee together”

“Co-stars that have coffee together and ‘are so cute’. Are you sure there’s nothing between you two?” Fariha is not letting it go this fast. Let’s just say, not being the only one detecting something more than friendship between Sana and Yousef made her a bit happy.

“Positive. There’s nothing between us. You know I wouldn’t date a co-star, that’d get messy.” No, she’s not dating Yousef. She’s not dating anyone right now. Especially not a co-star.

“So…you’re not dating Yousef because he’s a co-star?” Fariha grins, thinking she’s being very clever with this approach.

“I know what you’re playing, Fariha. No, I’m not dating Yousef because I don’t like him like that, co-star or not.”, Sana says in a tone that suggests that this should be the last of this conversation.

“Okay girl, if you say so…”

 

-x-

 

There’s one thing Sana and Yousef clearly agree on. Being late is not something they enjoy. They actually really can’t stand it. But sometimes, well sometimes you forget about the time. This only happens when the conversation you’re having is so interesting that you don’t notice for how long you’ve been talking.

Remembering their first day filming together and how their dynamic changed throughout the weeks they’ve been co-stars was one aspect of that long conversation that brought the two of them into this situation. Now they’re both panting by the time they reach the studio. As expected, everyone is already there, sitting in front of the screen, waiting for them.

“Sorry we’re late. We were…”, Yousef tries to say while trying to breath properly after running all the way from the coffee shop to the studio.

“Yeah, I can imagine what you were doing. Just save the details for the tabloids.”, their cast mate Mike says with a dirty grin, making two people in the room laugh.

“Sana, Yousef, the fact that we’re done filming doesn’t mean you’re allowed to be late. We’re all waiting for you to watch the bloopers together.” Ben, the director of the movie, says like a parent telling off his children in a somewhat loving way.

Sana and Yousef share a quick look.

“Sorry” Sana says in a low voice as she finds her sit next to Fariha.

Yousef sits right next to her but he’s too focused on his own embarrassment for being late to hear what Fariha has to say to Sana.

Fariha jabs Sana’s side lightly and smirks at her.

“See? I’m not the only one that thinks there’s something between you two.”

Sana doesn’t even look at her friend. She’s embarrassed enough for now, she doesn’t need more reason to blush.

“The video is about to start.”, she whisper-shouts.

“Suddenly, you’re so interested in the video.”

It’s obvious that people really were just waiting for Sana and Yousef because as soon as they sit down the lights are dimmed and the video starts playing.

The first two blooper scenes are of Mike forgetting his line in a intense scene which makes everyone laugh because Mike himself can’t stop laughing.

Then, the first scene Sana and Yousef ever shot together comes up. Well, it’s actually their sixth take, after Yousef’s five attempts to say his line. In that sixth take he finally managed to say it but then he had smiled at Sana and she had ended up smiling too, messing the scene.

“Okay, that wasn’t my fault!” Sana defends herself as everyone laughs, “It’s Yousef’s fault.”

“What? How?”

“You have a funny face. You made me laugh.”

Yousef is about to answer to that with a snarky comment but then the afore-mentioned five takes with him not being able to say his lines appear on the screen, causing everyone to laugh once again.

“See? The boy doesn’t have that many scenes and he still manages to mess it up”

“Yeah? And whose fault is that?”

Sana and Yousef hold each other’s gazes and don’t look away. If this was two months ago they would be glaring at each other. Right now, though, they’re just smiling knowingly. Yousef rhetorical question is probably understood differently by everyone else in the room compared to Sana. Those smiles make clear to both of them that they’re the only ones who know how Yousef really meant it. Neither of them has any negative feelings concerning that. Not anymore.

To be very honest, Yousef had forgotten about his scenes being cut because of Sana asking for it. He still doesn’t know why that happened but after they started filming, and he got to know the cast and especially Sana better, he just let go of it.  

 

-x-

 

“Sana, Yousef, thank you for joining us.”

Sana and Yousef enter the writers’ room. They had met in the parking lot and quickly figured out that neither of them know why exactly they are here. Both of them got a call from their agent to come to the set and meet them now. A week after they wrapped filming.

Their agents, the writers and producers of the movie and two people Sana only notices from meetings for the promotion tour are looking back and forth between Sana and Yousef.

“Is there something wrong?” Sana asks. She’s been in a lot of movies before and she’s never had a meeting like this, with such short notice, unless it was because there had been a problem.

“No, quite the opposite, actually.”

“Ever since the beginning of the filming we’ve been really interested in seeing people’s reaction about the cast. It’s important that the public likes you.”, Robert, the head of the publicity- team for the movie says.

“Exactly. And the thing is that everyone loves you, both of you.”, Sana’s agent Agnes says, not really looking at either of the actors in the room.

“That’s a good thing, right?” Yousef has no clue to where this conversation is going.

“Yes, it is. But it could also be a bad thing if people are disappointed later…I don’t know if you’re following me.”, one of the writers says but Yousef was too distracted by Agnes’ ambiguous look to see which one it was.

“I know I’m not” Yousef admits and looks at Sana who seems as clueless as he is.

“Me neither, what is going on?” She’s starting to get nervous. Why don’t they just tell what this is about?

“Okay, I’m going to go straight to the point. People are starting to think that you’re a couple.”, Bendikt, Yousef’s agent says quickly.

Immediately Sana and Yousef look at each other. With wide eyes Sana turns to her agent while Yousef, looking overwhelmed by this, keeps his gaze on his agent. Why would they order them to come here to only talk about rumours?

“A couple?”, Yousef exclaims. What exactly is he supposed to say or do now? Rumours are not a new thing in Hollywood but he’s confused as to why he’s here now.

“Yes…so we have to ask, are you a couple?”

“No, no, of course not. We’re just friends.”, Sana answers growing irritated. She had heard this from Fariha more than once but that’s completely different from hearing the producer of your next big movie ask you that.

“Well, that’s going to be a problem.” A blonde man Yousef has never seen before comments. It takes everything in him to not glare at that man.

“Huh? Now I’m definitely lost- Do you want us to hate each other…?” Yousef looks at his agent who is clearly avoiding his gaze. He knew acting would be different from modeling but right now he’s not understanding anything.

“No, in contrary, actually.”, one of the people staring at them says. Yousef is not even sure who that is. “We think that since people like you two together so much and we’re about to start the promotion of the movie…maybe it’d be a good idea to let people think what they’re already thinking”

“It would help promote the movie and it’d only be until it’s all over. It could even beneficiate both of you. I’m sure you would get some really good offers.”, the oldest writer says, “And it wouldn’t hurt when more people go to see the movie because of this.”

“I still don’t understand. What are you saying?” Sana asks, she’s starting to lose her patience.

“Sana, Yousef…we need you to pretend that you’re dating”


	5. Chapter 5

“We need you to pretend that you’re dating.”

What  kind of request is that? How could they say that as if it was nothing.

The two actors in the room react at the same time, louder than they wanted to but not caring in that moment.

“Excuse me, what?!”, Sana exclaims.

“What are you talking about?!” Yousef doesn’t know if he is more confused or more mad.

Agnes looks at Sana and then to her co-star. Not the reaction they hoped for, for sure.

“Sana please, calm down.”

“Calm down? Have you heard what he just said?”, Sana says to her agent and points to Robert. She doesn’t care that it’s not the polite thing to do.

“Are you in this too?” Yousef asks his agent who still hasn’t dared to look at him.

Bendikt has never seen Yousef so irritated. He goes along with most things. So Yousef’s agent tries to calm him down.

“We know is a lot to ask but we all think it’s for the best.”

Sana shakes her head furiously, not believing what she’s hearing. They’re trying to make this plan sound good.

“Well, I don’t care what you think, I’m not doing it!”

“Me neither, count me out!”, Yousef agrees with Sana.  

“Sana…”, Agnes calmly says, hoping that tone would somehow help Sana understand.

“No, Agnes! You know me, you know I don’t go around randomly dating people.” Sana doesn’t understand how it came to this. Her agent knows her better than anyone and she knows Sana wouldn’t do this.

Yousef’s head snaps towards Sana. Did she just imply that he does do that?

“Uh, excuse me? Do you think I do?”

Now Sana and Yousef are turned away from their agents and directly face each other.

“Well, how would I know?”, Sana aks in a somewhat challenging, even if it was not intentionally.

When their agents notice that Sana and Yousef turn their frustration at each other, they drag them out of the room. Sana and Agnes go right, Yousef and Bendikt left. Somehow they end up in their old dressing rooms.

“Sana, just listen to me.”

“It’s not going to happen, Agnes.” Sana says as she enters the room and turns around to face her agent.

“What was that about? What are you thinking?”, Yousef leads the way to his old dressing room, throwing up his arms in disbelief. Is he actually discussing this? Modeling is different from acting, that’s obvious to him now. At least for him those are two different worlds.

“Yousef, just hear me out, okay?”, Bendikt tries to reason with his client and friend.

“You know how important this movie is, we need the promotion to be good.” Agnes follows Sana into the room and closes the door behind her.

“Well, you know how important my values are and I’m not changing them for a movie.”, Sana knows she sounds bitter but she is. She loves her agent because of many things, one being that she understands her boundaries and doesn’t make her take jobs that will make her uncomfortable. Until now, apparently.

“No, Bendikt. When I entered this industry I knew I would have to do some things I wouldn’t like but not this, this..”, Yousef puts emphasis on it and waves his hands around to somehow explains what ‘this’ is even supposed to be, “… is too much.”

“No one is asking you to compromise your values, Sana. All we need is for you to pretend for a few months. You just have to spend time together in public, nothing physical, of course!”, Agnes explains, with a small hope that Sana would not be as against this idea now.

“But why is it even necessary? I’ve done lots of movies and the promotion was just fine.” It’s hard for Sana to understand. Yes, she knows that quite a few actors have done this, acting like they are a couple, it’s Hollywood after all. However, she never thought that she would or that anyone would even suggest that to her.

“I know, Yousef, trust me, I do. I get your point, but it’s just a little act so more people will want to watch the movie.” Bendikt plays this whole thing down, Yousef knows it. But he’s not falling for that.

“You think people won’t watch the movie if Sana and I aren’t dating?” Yousef asks in a provoking way but he really wonders. Why else would they propose that? Maybe they don’t believe in his acting skills but then again, they didn’t have to cast him.

“This is different, Sana. The rumours are out, people already think that you’re dating. If we tell the truth it might have a bad impact in the movie.” Reasoning with Sana is easy. It’s usually easy. Right now Agnes is sure that Sana doesn’t care one bit about her arguments.

“And you think lying is the solution?”, Sana narrows her eyes at Agnes. How is this even a conversation she is having right now?

“Of course they would watch it but…Look, the thing is that people like you and Sana, together. And we want them to keep liking you. Letting them think that you’re dating is the best way to do it.”

Bendikt watches how Yousef laughs humorlessly as soon as he say it’s the best way to do it. Yousef looks at his agent with the most serious look.

“Why can’t they just like us for our acting skills?”

“Sana, I know we both come from the same place but I’ve been here longer than you. I know how these things work. Just please, trust me. You know I would never do anything that could hurt you in any way.”, Agnes steps closer to Sana and puts a soothing hand on her arm. She looks at Sana with a small smile, hoping she’d return it.

She doesn’t. Sana just sighs, obviously exhausted by this discussion.

“I can’t keep talking about this right now. I need some air.” With that she walks past Agnes and out of the room.

“They will, as soon as they see you act they will love you. But we need them to like you before even watching the movie. You know I wouldn’t ask you to do this if I wasn’t sure that it’s for the best.”, Bendikt explains what they had in mind with this plan. It’s not a new concept.

Yousef only shakes his head at this ‘explanation’ and takes a deep breath.

“I…I need to think. I can’t do this now.”

 

-x- 

 

Hollywood is different, they had told him.

Hollywood might not be the right place for you, they said to her.

Neither Sana nor Yousef cared. They knew what they wanted to do, what they had to do.

How is that one sentence can change that certainty?

“We need you to pretend to date.”

Sana laughs at this thought. Of course they do. They believe they can make their actors do anything sometimes.

Yousef shakes his head and buries his hand in his hair, a nervous habit. What even just happened? If he told anyone that, they would laugh at him.

In the fury and deep in thoughts both, Sana and Yousef, leave the studio. They step outside and the sunshine that usually calms them both down has no affect on them at all.

Being angry and walking in a fast pace is not a good combination, not when there’s someone else that is in the same condition. It can happen that you crash into them.

“Oh! Sorry, I was…”, Yousef immediately says, taking a step back.

“Distracted? Yeah, me too” Sana finishes the sentence for him. She hasn’t seen him since they both left the writer’s room but she’s pretty sure that he just had the same conversation with his agent that she’s had with Agnes. That reminds her of something. “Hey, I’m sorry for earlier, I took my anger out on you.”

“No, it’s fine. I snapped way too easily too. I’m sorry.”, Yousef already felt bad right after snapping at her.

“So…I bet you didn’t think you would be dealing with this kind of stuff when you decided to change from modeling to acting, huh?” Sana really feels like laughing about this. All of this is ridiculous.

“Of course I did. In fact, I’m surprised that we’re not married already. Show must go on and stuff…”, Yousef answers, sarcasm dripping from each word. That Sana laugh at it is a plus.

She sobers up quickly and her face falls lightly.

“This is such a mess…what are we going to do?”

“I honestly don’t know. This movie is really important to me, Sana. It’s my first role as an actor and I want it to be a success.” He doesn’t think before saying this but he really means it.

“This is really important to me too. I love this movie, I love the plot, I love the cast…I may even accept you by now.” Sana adds the last part with a smirk. They both need to laugh now.

Yousef rolls his eyes at her, laughingly.

“Oh, wow. Thanks. I’ll sleep better at night now.”

“No, but seriously, I want everything to go well too.” Sana really does.

“And apparently our agents think that the way to make everything go well is to pretend that we’re dating.” He knows he sounds like a child, complaining about this again and again but he is just really confused about this all.

Sana tilts her head slightly, actually thinking about it.

“How did they even imagine this to work?”

“I really don’t know…how much would actually change for us, in our own lives?” Now Yousef starts thinking about it too. What would have happened if they had agreed?

“I guess we would go to promotion stuff together as more than just co-stars.”, Sana mentions.

“Yeah, and our coffee breaks would be called coffee dates now”, Yousef nods along to what Sana says and adds this thought that popped into his mind as soon as he started thinking about pretending to date Sana and what it would change for him.

They both laugh at this. Naming something they casually did for the past weeks differently would make them look like they’re dating?

How much would they actually need to lie? If they didn’t answer the question straight out and didn’t address each other as a girlfriend or boyfriend, letting people just assume, they wouldn’t be lying. Technically.

Looking at each other, not sure how to express that thought to the other one, they stand there for a while. In the same spot Sana helped Yousef on his first day of filming.

Yousef is the first one to break the silence. He’s talking very quietly, almost in a whisper as if he’s not sure if he wants Sana to hear him or not.

“Could we…”

Sana presses her lips together, thinking. She was not the only one doubting their immediate reaction.

“Well,…”, she says and looks him straight in the eyes, “.. if we do, we need rules.”  

“Okay…what kind of rules?”, Yousef asks, unsure if they are agreeing to do this or not.

“First of all, no kissing. Actually no physical contact. I don’t know what you’re used to do but I’m not doing that!” Those are the rules for Sana and she states them with so much certainty that Yousef feels like he has to take a step away.

“What? Where does that even come from? I wasn’t counting on kissing or touching you. I’m not like that either!”, Yousef exclaims. Did she really think he’d go all up in her personal space if they did this?

“Well, again, how would I know?” Sana just shrugs.

“Maybe you could ask instead of assuming?” Yousef leans on the wall behind him and crosses his arms over his chest.

Sana opens her mouth to say something but closes it right after. He’s right. She realizes that now.

“I’m sorry…You’re right, I shouldn’t have just assumed that.”

Yousef notices how serious Sana looks about this, how she furrows her eyebrows. He instantly feels bad about it, he knows that she doesn’t mean to hurt him or to be rude. Being in this industry, she’s probably used to guys being rather inappropriate around her. Even if it stings a little bit the fact that she would think that he’s one of those guys, he understands her reaction.

“It’s fine…Look at us, we’re not even dating yet and we’ve already had our first fight” All he wants to do now is making her laugh and he feels extremely proud when he sees Sana’s lips curving into a smile right before she let’s out a chuckle.

Once again they just stand there staring at each other in silence. Neither of them is sure if they’ve just agreed to do what they are asking them, if they’ve just agreed to pretend that they’re dating.

“So…are we doing this?” Yousef is the one that breaks the silence once again, asking the dreaded question. He needs to be sure that Sana is okay with this, he’d never do anything she doesn’t agree with.

“I guess we are.”


	6. Chapter 6

The promotion tour for a movie is Sana’s favorite part of her job, after the actual acting of course. She gets to travel all over the country and even go abroad to tell people about her work and how much fun it was.

Yousef on the other hand has never done something like this. Whenever he does a project as a model, be it for posters, tv commercials or being on the runway, he just did that and the marketing teams did the rest. He only had to be there for parties but never as the main focus.

It’s all very foreign to him.

Especially considering that he’s on a promotion tour for a movie while having to act like he’s in a relationship with his co-star Sana Bakkoush.

After the conversation they had outside the studio, Sana and Yousef returned to the writers’ room to tell them that they were going to do it, they were going to pretend that they were dating. To say that the writers, people from promotion and their own agents were shocked by their decision is not an exaggeration. They had been so angry when they had heard the proposition that neither of them thought that they would accept. But Yousef and Sana wanted the best for the movie and if they thought that this was the best, they had to at least try.

The rules were simple. All they had to do was spend some time together in public, something that they were already doing anyway, and sit together in interviews, another thing that they were going to do even if they hadn’t agreed since they were the main characters of the movie. The PR staff had explained to them that they shouldn’t be too blunt about their ‘relationship’, this is Hollywood and actors that are in a relationship don’t admit it, at least not at first. Still, they had to make sure to share a few glances during interviews and drop a few hints here and there so the rumours and expectation would increase.

“Today, we’re joined by Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar who play Dounia and Hakan in the upcoming movie ‘Finding the truth’. Welcome!”, the overly-cheery interviewer says and claps which his notecards in his hands make harder than it should be.

Sana and Yousef try not to cringe too much about the guy pronouncing their names wrong. They’re both used to that anyway.

“Hi, thanks for having us!”, Sana says.

At the same time Yousef says:” Hello, we’re really excited to be here!”

“So Yousef, Sana, tell us a little about your movie. We know your character Yousef, helps Sana’s character to find what she’s looking for. Should people expect an epic romance between your characters?”

“Well, yeah…I guess you could say that there’s some chemistry between Sana’s character and mine. But I think that the important plot of the movie is Dounia’s search for her sister”

Yousef answer after paying so much attention to the interviewer that Sana would have guessed it’s not his very first interview like this. But the thing that surprises her most is the answer itself.

She didn’t expect him to answer like this. He’s the love interest. He could have just cared about his role in the movie. But he doesn’t. He understands the most important aspect of it.

Yousef looks at Sana, maybe to check if she agrees or not, maybe to just make sure he didn’t mess up answering this question completely.

Well, what he didn’t expect to see was Sana looking at him, giving him so much attention. Her eyes only directed at him, eyebrows slightly raised and a small smile playing on her lips.

She really is an amazing actress, Yousef thinks.

“Of course, family is more important that love, that’s clear”, The interviewer says reading his notecards to find his next question. “So Sana, you play Dounia, a girl that’s looking for her sister. What can you tell us about her? Do you feel identified with her?”

“Well, I admire Dounia so much. She’s such a strong woman. She fights for what she thinks is right. She may seem a bit cold sometimes but when it comes to her loved ones, she’s willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they’re okay. She has a big heart and she’s also so smart. I don’t really know if I’m like her but I’d like to think that someday I will.”

Yousef’s head snaps to Sana, who’s sitting on his right side. Is she being serious.

“Oh, she’s like her.”, Yousef immediately says with a very convinced look on his face.

Sana raises her eyebrows, not aware that she’s already smiling a that. She’s not sure if he’s just saying that for the cameras or if he actually  means it. Either way, it’s nice of him to say.

“It sounds like Yousef thinks you’re all those things. What about you, Yousef? Are you anything like Hakan?”

“If I’m being honest here, I don’t think so. When I first got the part of Hakan and I read the script, I’m not going to lie, he was kind of this cocky, overconfident sometimes annoying guy. But I tried to change him a little bit and make him into a good guy, and I really hope that people can see that. He also made a mistake during the movie that I, Yousef, would never make. He did it because he had lost hope but still, is something that I wouldn’t do. So yeah, what I’m trying to say is that I’m nothing like Hakan. I’m Yousef, I’m not Hakan. But I think that’s what acting is about, we’re actors so we’re asked to play people that aren’t like us”

Sana can’t help herself and laughs. Sure, Yousef is nothing like Hakan. At all. While he was talking Sana just shook her head with a knowing look on her face.

The interviewer notices that look and when she laughs, Yousef looks at her too.

“Apparently Sana thinks you are not as different from Hakan as you say, Yousef.”

This makes Yousef tilt his head slightly and watch Sana answer the interviewer: “Well, Yousef is like Hakan in many ways. Of course, he is not cocky or annoying. Everyone that spends a bit of time with him can see that. But … there are similarities.”

To Sana it’s so obvious that Yousef is new to the acting thing by how he answers to the simple question people usually answer with one or two sentences. He just kept rambling and honestly, it’s very entertaining when you know Yousef personally.

Sana finishes talking and looks over at her co-star and finds him looking at her. He has his eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion but he smiles at her. When their eyes meet his facial expressions relax and they start smiling at each other.

Not looking away from Sana he comments: “Well, maybe I have some things in common with Hakan.”

 

-x-

 

“Did he just admitted what everyone is thinking?

I’m Ashely Johnson and this is Hollywood today, you’re best source to find what’s up with your favorite LA people here on YouTube. Today we’re going to talk about the stars of the upcoming movie ‘Finding the truth’

For those who had watched the trailer of the movie it is no secret that this movie is going to be a huge success. But has this movie brought to the lives of the actors more than just career success? Our sources say so.

Ever since the filming started there have been lots of rumours about actress Sana Bakkoush and co-star and model, and now actor, Yousef Acar taking their chemistry beyond the screen. Now these rumours may have been confirmed by the actor himself.

When asked about the similarities they share with their characters Sana Bakkoush seemed to think that her character was everything she wants to be like to which Yousef answered with and quote, “she’s like her”. Now this may not seem much, only that he thinks highly of her but that’s not all that happened in that interview. When the reporter asked Yousef if he was anything like Hakan, the Turkish boy he gives life to on the big screen, he started rambling about how he’s nothing like him. Apparently his co-star didn’t agree with that and said that he is like his character. You’re still wondering how this proves anything? Well, then this happened.

In this clip we can see how Yousef and Sana share an intense -and loving maybe?- look with each other. And not only that, but right in that moment Yousef, not tearing his eyes off his co-star, goes ahead and says, quote “Well, maybe I have some things in common with Hakan”.

Whether this is just a pair of actors getting along or the start of a new romance off-screen, we may not know for awhile. But right now all we can do is speculate and enjoy their shared interviews, something tells me that they are going to give us lot to talk about.

Until then, we leave you with this montage of pictures that fans have taken of them during these past few months. As you can see, they clearly like spending time together.”

 

-x-

 

 

When you’ve been doing interviews for several weeks, or years in Sana’s case, you tend to prepare your answers. Almost every reporter asks the same questions. ‘Are you like your characters?’, at which Sana usually says good things about her character and how she’d like to think that she’s like them. ‘What is your favorite part of acting?’, this time, Sana would answer that she loves filming and meeting the fans but that she also has a lot of fun doing this kind of interviews, cue to a polite smile and the reporter will love you. Then there’s Sana’s favorite question, ‘can you give us a little spoiler about what is coming?’. As if she was allowed to say anything. This would be the time where Sana smiles shyly at the reporter, as if she was utterly sorry about not being able to share details about it, and says that she can’t really say much, only that she really hopes people like it.

But then, there are some questions that Sana doesn’t like. Some questions that maybe aren’t meant to hurt her, she really doubts that the reporters want to be rude, but that still sting. Some questions that remind Sana that as much as she works hard to make a name for herself, there still will be people that will see her different.

“So Sana, Yousef, I have to ask. There have been rumours about you being together since you started filming. Is there something you want to comment about that?”

“Well” Sana also knows the answer to this question. She has to smile and reply something vague, that will make them think that they’re together but without giving too much away. “We can’t really tell people what the should and shouldn’t think, can we?”

The interviewer just smiles at the two actors sitting across from him.

“So, can I ask… Sana, how is it possible for you as a Muslim to play roles that have love interest and to be .. or not to be with Yousef?”

At that question Sana tries hard not to show how much this question affects her, how her stomach sinks. You’d think, you get used to these types of questions after some time. Well, she didn’t.

Still, over the years Sana found the best way to answer this. Saying ‘I chose the roles I want to play, that are what I want to do, like every other actress and actor too’.

Right now, she doesn’t get the chance to say that. Out of the corner of her eye Sana sees Yousef stiffen, so she turns to him. He looks shocked, his mouth falling open and eyes wide. He shakes his head at the interviewer.

Yousef starts talking before Sana can intervene.

“ What kind of question is that?”, Yousef obviously tries to stay calm and he speaks in a controlled manner.

“I just…”, the interviewer starts answering  but looks lost. As if he didn’t think there would be any problem with this question.

Yousef, once again, just shakes his head.

“Well, if you’re going to be ignorant and totally out of place you should have asked both of us and not just her because I’m Muslim too and on top of all.. you’re also sexist if you really only see a difficulty in an actress and her relationships and not with an actor.”

Sana watches as Yousef calls out the interviewer in such a collected manner that it impresses her. Still, she can see that he is offended by that and has no understanding for that question.

She puts her hand on his arm to get his attention and maybe, to calm him. Like she hoped, he turns to her and looks her in the eyes. She can see that he’s really sorry that she had to hear that question. It’s not even just what the interviewer said, it’s how he said it.

While Sana can’t help but feel a little proud that Yousef just did that so good, without shouting or getting visibly angry, she also feels a bit uncomfortable. Not because of what Yousef said. She completely agrees. But rather because this is Hollywood and you don’t call people like that out in front of the camera. It only leads to unnecessary conflict and reputations to get ruined. Usually not even that of the ignorant person but that of those people that stood up against it. She doesn’t want that for Yousef, especially not because of a comment directed at her. She can deal with it on her own. She’s been doing that for years.

Yousef puts a hand over hers on his arm and squeezes it lightly. He mouths a ‘Sorry’ to her. It doesn’t matter if he means what the interviewer said or how he reacted. Either way, he makes Sana smile.

.-x-

.

-x-

Gifset: “Yousef and Sana being cute on their latest interview”

#yousana #yousef acar #sana bakkoush #findingthetruth

35.874 notes.

-x-

 

When Sana and Yousef get called in to have a meeting with the same people who suggested the fake relationship, while the rest of the cast goes out to have drinks after a day full of TV-promotion, they have no doubt that they probably won’t like want they will hear.

Agreeing to act like you’re in a relationship is one thing, they don’t have to do much other than looking at each other more often than at other cast members and smile a little more when you’re around each other.

Well, the only reason for being brought in to talk about that whole thing can be an addition to the plan.

“I’m sure you’re both wondering why we called you, don’t be scared, it’s not bad news.”

Sana and Yousef share a knowing look. Not bad news. Good to know but then again, their definition of what’s good and what’s bad news might differ from Robert’s definition.

“Well, after our last meeting I think I’ll wait till I know what’s going on to decide if it’s bad of good news”, Sana says half joking half serious. This meeting is giving her flashbacks of their last one and she’s not liking it at all. But then, what can be worse than pretending that they’re together?

Robert raises his eyebrows at Sana, looking a bit annoyed. He doesn’t have the right to be annoyed, if anyone should be, that’s the two actors in the room.

“I’ll go to the point then. We need you to go public about your relationship.”

Oh well, that.

“Public? I thought we were already public?” Yousef is a little confused, people already think that they’re dating, what could be more public than that?.

“You know next week is the premiere, right? You’re going to go there together…as a couple.” Robert is the only one in the room talking, besides Sana and Yousef.

“What does that imply? What would we have to do?”, Sana asks. She knows what she’s willing to do and what she’s not, and she hopes that they know too.

Looking back and forth between Yousef and Sana, and their agents, Robert explains.

“All you have to do is go there together, in the same car and all. I mean you were already going to do that. But when the reporters ask you if you’re together, this time you say yes.”

Sana furrows her eyebrows and looks at Yousef. He seems very lost, like he has no clue how to deal with this. It’s understandable. Sana has never done something like before but she’s been in this industry for a lot longer than he has. She can adapt a little better.

So that’s why she asks the next question.

“Why? I mean, why now?”

“The rumours are already there, and after your…encounter…with that reporter, Yousef, everybody loves you even more. They’re really into this idea of you being a couple so we’ve decided to give the public what they want. The premiere is the perfect time. It’s right before the movie hits theaters all over the world and you know a bit more people would go see it just because the main characters are dating in real life.”

Yousef feels like laughing. That ‘encounter’ with that reporter was not for show. It was something that is important to him. It was not for people to like him more. It was just to make clear how he sees it.

“So, basically…Everything will be just like now, except that when asked if we’re together we say yes?” Sana can’t believe she’s really doing this. She agreed to it before, there is no going back now. ‘Breaking up’ right before the movie airs would be a huge mistake.

“That’s exactly what we need, Sana.”, it’s the first time any other person in the room talks. Agnes answers Sana and smiles at her reassuringly.

Sana faces her agent and just nods.

“Okay…I mean, we already said that we were going to do this so…yeah, I guess it’s fine by me.”

“Great. What about you, Yousef?”, Robert turns to Yousef, who he had ignored for the past minutes while talking to Sana.

Yousef doesn’t look at him for long though. He turns his gaze towards Sana who’s already looking at him, waiting for his answer. They’ve been a team for a while now, that wouldn’t change now.

“If she’s in, I’m in.”

Sana smiles at him weakly and he smiles right back.

But of course that was not enough. Robert keeps talking.

“One more thing though. You should probably tell your family. Not the truth, of course, that wouldn’t be wise. But you should tell them the same story about how you two started your relationship. You know how the press can be and in case someone contact them, they should be ready. We can’t have two versions of the story.”

It’s like they’re reliving that day they first heard about this pretend-relationship.

Once again both of them leave the room. Once again Yousef goes one way, Sana the other way.

The difference: they’re not angry. Not at each other and not at the people left in the room.

 

-x-

 

 

“Hey! Can you see me?” After a few attempts, her parents are not that good with technology, Sana manages to facetime them.

“We see you! Oh you look beautiful. How are you?”, Sana’s mom leans closer to the phone, taking up all the space on the screen for a moment.

“I’m fine, I’m fine. And yes, I’m eating well, I promise!”, Yousef answers his mother’s favorite question.

“You should call more often, we miss you.”, leaning in closer to the camera, Yousef’s mom says. Yousef thinks he can see tiny tears, his mother has always been very emotional.

“I miss you too, a lot…I…I was calling you because I need to tell you something!” Sana really does miss her family a lot. She loves her job but she loves them more and that her parents both look at her with kind-of sad looks doesn’t help.

“Is there something wrong?”, Sana’s dad asks, taking the phone from his wife’s hand.

“No, there’s nothing wrong. It’s good news, actually. I wanted to tell you before you find out from other person”, Yousef reassures his father, who went into his protective-mode too quickly.

“Come on Yousef, just say it.”, Yousef’s dad says, obviously not being able to wait any longer.

“Okay so…There’s this boy.”, Sana begins this difficult part of the conversation.

“There’s this girl.”, Yousef says, not looking at his phone for a second.

“Are you dating a girl, Yousef?”, Yousef’s mom immediately asks, starting to smile widely.

“Yeah, it’s really new but, we’re dating.”, Sana says, a bit bashful. She doesn’t like lying, especially not to her parents. It’s only for a short amount of time, she tells herself.

“Oh…that’s…unexpected.”, Sana’s father says. Doesn’t matter how old she is, Sana is his only daughter and any indication that she’s actually growing up is something he’s not sure how to handle.

“But who is he? How did you meet him? When?” Of course her mother is the one asking a million questions as soon as she tells them. Sana laughs at that.  

“She’s…she’s Sana Bakkoush.” Yousef starts smiling.

“He’s Yousef Acar.”, Sana replies with a smile.

“Sana Bakkoush? THE Sana Bakkoush?”, Yousef’s dad asks, sounding … impressed. Yousef nods laughingly. Yes, that would have been his reacting only weeks ago if someone told him he would be dating Sana. Well, fake dating.

“Yeah, he’s my co-star. You may know him actually? He’s a norwegian model.” Sana knows her parents don’t care for things like this. They’re usually never impressed when she tells them about other actors or artists she has met.

“Yes…I think I’ve seen him on some posters around the city. He’s…he’s really something.” Sana’s mother say with a smile playing on her lips. She glances over to her husband and then back to Sana again.

“Yes, dad. I know she’s beautiful, believe me, I know.” How can Yousef not know? She’s even looking beautiful at 5 in the morning for early shoots. He presses his lips together, trying to concentrate.

“She’s Muslim, isn’t she?”, Yousef’s mother asks, obviously already knowing the answer. Yousef doesn’t miss the look his mother shoots his father, looking very happy in this moment.

“Yes, he’s Muslim. But not only that. He’s such a nice guy. He respects me and he’s funny.”, Sana answers her mother’s question she knew would be asked.

“She has a huge heart and she’s so strong. She doesn’t hesitates when she thinks something isn’t fair. And she’s so talented!” Once he starts talking about her, positive things about her just come to Yousef’s mind back to back.

“At first I have to admit that we didn’t get along. But on our first day filming he was having trouble with his lines and I helped him. Then when we started filming something just…clicked.” Sana remembers the first day they filmed together and almost forgets that she’s talking to her parents, smiling to herself.

“She was amazing. She came to talk to me even if she didn’t have to. She made me feel better about myself and she helped me a lot. As soon as we started filming something just…clicked.” Remembering his first day of filming, Sana is always the first person he thinks of. If she didn’t help him things would’ve turned out a lot different. He doesn’t even notice that he didn’t stop smiling since this conversation about her started.

“Well, he sounds like a really nice boy.”, Sana’s mother says, noticing how happy her daughter seems. That’s the most important thing to her.

“He is, he really is.”, Sana says, nodding along.

“She sounds like a great girl.”, Yousef’s mother says, noticing how happy her son seems. What else can she wish for?

“She is, she really is.”, Yousef agrees, smiling and happy that his parents seem to like Sana already.

Ending their calls, Sana and Yousef both leave their old dressing rooms and walk to the same spot. Outside, to the wall of the studio they had talked at on Yousef’s first day of filming. They did not talk about meeting here and yet here they are, walking towards each other.

“How’d it go?”, Yousef asks Sana.

He notices that she looks happy, that’s a good sign.

Sana leans on the wall behind her and looks at Yousef with a smile.

“Pretty good.”, what else is she supposed to say. “And with your parents?”

Yousef follows Sana’s lead and leans on the wall, turning his head to her.

“Pretty good, too.”

They smile at each other for a few moments, not saying anything else. The sun is setting, tinting the sky a warm orange.

Sana smiles at the shadows falling on Yousef’s face. Even now, when it’s so late and the last sunlights fall on his face in a unflattering way, Yousef still looks good. He definitely is a model.

Which makes her think of something.

“Actually, …”, she speaks up and Yousef looks at her with more attention. “…my mom already knew you from posters hanging on walls around the city.”

Yousef doesn’t know how to react to that. Is she saying that to make fun of him? He always found it a bit weird seeing him on huge posters somewhere in the city.

Instead of saying anything to that, he answers with something similar.

“My parents obviously know you already.”, Yousef says with a grin, shrugging.

Sana interrupts him before he can say more. She pushes herself off the wall and raises her eyebrows.

“‘Obviously’?”, she asks, narrowing her eyes.

Now Yousef pushes himself off the wall and stands right in front of Sana. She has to look up a little.

“Yes, obviously. You’re an actress from Oslo that made a name for herself in Hollywood. Of course the know you!”

For some reason this leaves Sana speechless. The way Yousef looks at her while saying this, teasing but in a soft way, makes her stop before instantly answering.

Even though this is the perfect timing for Yousef to tease her even more, he can’t. He’s too distracted by how beautifully cute she is. She looks so surprised about what he said which he can’t understand at all.

That’s how they stand there for seconds, maybe minutes.

Someone blaring their car horn a street down makes them snap out of it. They both look on the floor, trying to collect their thoughts.

Yousef is the first one to say something.

“Ready to go?”, They would join their cast mates.

Sana nods until she remembers one thing.

“I need to call one more person.”

Yousef just nods and gives her the privacy she needs by already walking to the car. Sana watches him walk away and then looks down on her phone. She finds her brother’s number and presses call.


	7. Chapter 7

Sana loves getting ready for premieres of movies. Be it her own movie or just one she wants to see and gets invited to the premiere for. She always works with the same stylist who knows Sana’s style perfectly by now and still challenges her once in a while.

Loud music is playing in the hotel room they are getting ready in.

Fariha and Lea were almost ready while Sana barely even started to get ready. Since she didn’t have to deal with having her hair styled, Sana knew it was better if the other two women would start getting ready first.

Now, her co-stars are ready and being called into the lobby already, to leave together, and Sana is still sitting in her chair and getting her make-up done. Apparently it’s okay because Agnes reassured Sana that she wouldn’t be going to the premiere alone so she had nothing to worry about.  
  


-x-  
  


Don’t freak out. Just, don’t freak out. It’s easier to say it than to do it. At least that’s what Yousef thinks while pacing around the lobby. He can’t help but feel anxious about tonight. Sure, he has been at a lot of events before, he’s a model after all, but this is totally different. This is a movie premiere. This is his movie premiere. He’s been working so hard on this project and today all this work will finally pay off.

And it’s not only the fact that people are going to watch the movie, that are going to watch him acting for the first time. As if that wasn’t enough, now Yousef also needs to worry about the fact that tonight Sana and him have to go public about their relationship. Their fake relationship. Until now, all they had to worry about was making sure that they would be seen while hanging out, maybe dropping a hint here and there about their relationship. But this is different. Now they have to tell their ‘secret’. They have to answer questions about a relationship that doesn’t even exist. Things are about to change, he’s sure of it and he doesn’t know if he’s ready for it.

Pacing back and forth, trying to calm himself down, Yousef did not even notice that Sana has arrived in the lobby. Well, when he turns around once more to walk up to the reception and back to the door again, he stops so abruptly that he can feel his breath being kicked out off his chest.

Sana is just leaving the elevator, looking down on the skirt of her light-blue dress, making sure not to step on it. Yousef feels like all the noise around him vanishes, he doesn’t see anyone but Sana Bakkoush walking towards him. She looks like a runway model, he thinks. No, she looks a lot more beautiful. The skirt of her dress flows around her, her hijab and dress complimenting her skin tone. Yousef is not able to look anywhere but at her. And she doesn’t even notice.

Then she looks up and Yousef has to actively try to keep his mouth shut. She’s literally glowing. She’s always beautiful, that’s no secret but right now, right now she looks like an angel.

 

Sana loves her dress a lot but it takes time to get used to it. While she is busy with it she doesn’t look where she’s going once she leaves the elevator.

Then she does. The first thing, the first person, she sees makes her stop walking.   
Yousef is standing in the middle of the lobby, looking at her and not looking away for a second. She can’t even say anything about that since she’s not in another position.

Yousef standing there, in a classic black suit, his hair slicked back, looking so different from usually but so good anyway… Sana doesn’t know where to look or what to do with herself.

His white shirt is fully buttoned up, a black tie finishing his outfit, makes him look like the model he is. Sana is aware that he always looks good, he is a model for a reason, but in this very moment she doesn’t know how to react. She can only look at him and try not to show how impressed she is too much.

As if she is not amazed by him, just by his looks right now, he starts smiling at her, when Sana is almost standing right in front of him.

She answers with a smile of her own and Yousef’s eyes immediately wander to her dimples and he feels like cupping her cheeks and just looking at her like that.

At the same time they snap out of it. Not on their own. A guy comes into the lobby and joins the two actors that have yet to exchange a word today.

“Sana Bakkoush, Yousef Acar. I’m here to pick you up.”

“Thank you. We’ll be right there” Sana says and she watches as the driver nods and walks to the front door to leave the hotel. She takes a deep breath and looks at Yousef, trying not to show that she’s still affected by his looks. “Hi.”

“You look amazing.” Yousef blurts out before he can stop himself.

Sana looks at him again, after lowering her gaze to not blatantly stare at him. She smiles at him, letting her eyes wander over his outfit one more time.

“Thanks. You look really nice too.”

Yousef starts smiling broadly again, still not taking his eyes off Sana. He has worked with a lot of models but none of them left him so speechless like Sana right now.

“You look amazing.”, he just says, not even registering what he said.

“Yeah, you’ve already said that…”, Sana says with a quiet laugh, a little shy out of nowhere. To Yousef it seems more like she’s laughing at him because he doesn’t have himself under control.

“Huh? Sorry, sorry. I just…I’m a little…” That made him shake his head and try to be aware of what he’s saying.

Sana smirks a bit but looks at Yousef with an understanding look on her face. She can imagine how he feels.

“Nervous? Me too.”, she finishes his sentence.

Yousef nods, pressing his lips together. All the worries he forgot when he saw Sana slowly start coming back to his mind.

“It’s my first premiere. Should I be scared?”

“Only a little.”, Sana says, tilting her head slightly and looking at Yousef seriously.

Yousef thought she would make a funny remark or just tell him not to worry about it but he did not think she would answer like this.

“Oh, okay.”

When she notices how his face falls again Sana shakes her head lightly and chuckles.

“I’m kidding. You have nothing to worry about. Besides, we’ll be together the whole night. I’ll be by your side.”

Yousef sighs out in relief. He’s glad that Sana will be by his side the whole time. She knows what she’s doing, she knows what to expect and will be a great support for him.

“That really makes me feel better.”, he lowers his head a little to meet Sana’s eyes directly and smiles at her gratefully.

“Yeah, right.” Sana raises her eyebrows at him doubtfully. Why wouldn’t she believe him?

“No, Sana. I mean it. I couldn’t do this without you.”, Yousef says sincerely, meaning every word he says.

Those words have a bigger impact on Sana than she could have imagined. Maybe it was not just what he said but also the soft look on Yousef’s face while he said it. Making Sana believe that he honestly means it. That makes her smile.

“We’re a team.” Sana somehow feels less nervous than before. They are in this together and they are a team.

This time it’s Yousef that can only look at her with a smile.

“Yes, we are. So…are you ready?”, he says standing up a little more straight and holding his arm out to her to interlink hers if she wants to.

Sana’s eyes go to his extended arm and then up to his eyes. He’s waiting for her with a smile, not looking like she has to take his arm. He honestly gives her the choice.

Smiling at him she takes another step and interlinks her arm with his.

“Let’s go.”

  
-x-

  
“Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar are dating.

I’m Ashley Johnson and this is Hollywood today.

After months of speculation Yousef Acar and Sana Bakkoush have confirmed that they’re, in fact, dating.

The actors attended the premiere of their new movie together and this happened. Warning, this may be the cutest thing you’ll see today:

_“We’re here at the red carpet of Sana Bakkoush’s new movie, ‘Finding the truth’. Oh, here come Yousef Acar and Sana Bakkoush. Let’s see if we can talk to them. Sana! Sana! Please, a minute?”_

_“Of course! Hi!”, Sana says, walking over to the familiar reporter, with Yousef by her side._

_“Good evening Sana, Yousef. This is for Hollywood today!”_

_“Hi, thanks for coming!”, Yousef says, looking at the blonde reporter._

_“It’s my pleasure. So, we’re here for the premiere of your new movie. Are you excited?”, she leans closer to the couple standing on the red carpet._

_Sana looks at Yousef with a smile and then turns towards the reporter and the camera._

_“Yes, we’re super excited. We’ve been working so hard on this movie for so long and we can’t wait for people to see it.”_

_“We really hope they like it.”, Yousef adds with a smile, after tearing his gaze away from Sana when she finishes answering._

_“If you are half as charming as you are in real life I’m sure people will love you. And speaking of that, I’m sure you’re aware of certain rumours they’ve been around you two.”_

_Sana chuckles lightly, nodding._

_“Well, this is Hollywood. No one is free from rumours.”_

_Looking between Yousef and Sana the reporter asks her next question with a big smile._

_“So you follow the people’s comment, I assume, then. Do you know what Yousana is?”_

_“Of course we know what Yousana is. It’s the mix between my name and Sana’s”, Yousef answers, pointing from Sana to himself but leaving his gaze lingering on Sana._

_“Yes, it’s exactly that. People use it as your ship name, ‘cause they think you’re a couple.”. the reporter says, looking impressed that the actors are aware of this ship name._

_“We are a couple.”, Sana simply says, turning to Yousef to smile at him._

_The reporter does a double take, leaning even closer to the stars of the movie._

_“You are?”_

_“Yeah.”, Yousef laughs lightly at the reaction._

_“Wait, so this is it? You’re finally confirming that you’re a couple?”_

_Sana and Yousef both press their lips together to not burst out laughing at the reporter’s shocked face._

_“Well, we’ve never truly hidden it, have we? Just look at her, would you hide a girlfriend like this?”, Yousef answers to that, pointing to Sana with a hand gestures to support his statement._

_Sana turns her head towards him and scrunches up her nose, smiling._

_“Oh, shut up. You’re making me blush and we still have to take more photos.”_

_“Well, I won’t bother you anymore then. Enjoy the rest of the evening!”_

 

“Are you still alive over there? I know! Aren’t Yousef and Sana, or Yousana as they apparently don’t mind to be called, the cutest couple in Hollywood?

As always it’s been a pleasure to bring you the exclusive.

Subscribe for more news and don’t forget to give thumbs up if you’ve liked the video!”

  
-x-

  
Promotion for a movie is very diverse, Yousef has learned. Interviews on TV, radio, for magazines and conventions and photoshoots. For a lot of things. Promotional pictures, pictures for the DVD’s that will be sold, even pictures for cutouts to put into theaters.

And even after the first premiere of the movie there are still pictures to be taken.

Yousef feels like this is the first time he is not nervous to do something for this movie. The other times pictures were taken the whole cast was there, he got nervous in front of them.

Now, it’s only him and Sana.

He’s a model. He feels comfortable in front of the camera. He knows what he’s doing. He did not have that feeling all too often since he jumped head first into this whole other industry.

“We’ll start with some pictures of Sana alone.” The photographer says as Sana and Yousef enter the room, ready to shoot.

Sana nods and takes a deep breath. She’s used to this kind of things but she still gets nervous every time she has to stand in front of the camera. Especially when she has to do it alone. It’s easier when other people are with her, it makes her feel safe.

“It’s okay if you’re nervous, Sana.” She hears Yousef saying. He’s standing right next to her, a playful smile on his lips. He seems to be enjoying the situation. Sana doesn’t blame him, this is his world after all. “You have nothing to worry about. It’s just a guy with a camera. I’m right here if you need any help or tip”

“Wow, thank you Yousef, that’s very kind of you.” She says half serious half amused. She knows he’s really trying to help her and she’s grateful for that. But…Sana has done lots of photoshoots before, it’s not like it’s her first time.

She takes a few steps and stands in front of the camera. She waits for the photographer to tell her what she should do, what pose she should take, if she should smile or not. The typical stuff in a shooting like this.

Yousef watches her with attention. He expects her to be nervous. He expects her to be self-conscious. But what he sees is completely different. If he didn’t know better, he’d swear that the person that is in front of him is not an actress but a model. Sana poses in such a natural way, as if she had been doing this all of her life. Well, maybe she has.

He can’t help but laugh a little. Of course. Of course she is great at this too. She’s Sana Bakkoush. She knows how to act. She’s beautiful, she’s smart, she’s strong, she’s kind. And now, apparently, she’s also a professional model. Will there come the day when Sana Bakkoush stops surprising him? Yousef doubts it.

“Okay, Yousef, now you stand right next to her.” The photographer tells him.

Yousef shakes his head a little trying to come back to reality. He sees Sana smiling at him, waiting for him to join her. He can sense her amusement, she’s clearly enjoying this.

“You couldn’t let me have this, could you?” Yousef asks her slightly bitter, but also impressed as he joins her. “Is there something that you can’t do?”

“Maybe…but it’s a secret.”

At first the photographer tells them how to pose, how and where to look, to move the right hand a little higher or the left leg a bit more to the front.

Then, he lets the do whatever they want.

“Just talk a bit, dance around, I don’t care.”, he told them with a laugh.

Sana and Yousef looked at each other for a few seconds, waiting for the other to start but when they stare at each other for more than a minute, without saying one thing, they burst out laughing at the same time.

Yousef looks at her with a weird look which makes Sana double over and hold her stomach while laughing. Yousef watches her with a fond look on his face until Sana loses her footing on the heels she’s wearing because she laughs so hard and he has to stop her from falling forward.

He moves so fast that he almost slips himself but he manages to hold her by her arms and steady her.

“Thank you! That was great! Now we need Yousef’s solo pictures.”

Sana looks away from Yousef and to the photographer, nodding and leaving the small set. She doesn’t leave the room directly, though. She stands at the side and watches how Yousef easily gets into the job. He’s a natural, it looks so effortless.

While she’s watching him do his work with a smile, someone calls out her name. Not only does she react but so does Yousef. He also looks after Sana when she’s walking off the set.

He has work to do, yes, but he wouldn’t have minded Sana waiting there.

He can’t really think about that for so long because suddenly he feels something weird in his face. He frowns and brings his hand to his forehead taking the icky stuff off. He looks down at his hand and then he looks up confused. He understands what is going on when he sees Sana standing a few steps from him, a can of silly strings in her hand and a devilish smile on her lips.

Yousef narrows his eyes at her and takes a slow step towards her, not taking his eyes off her. Instinctively Sana holds the can back up and sprays the silly strings right in his face. Yousef hears her laugh loudly while he closes his eyes and letting himself be covered in the weird-feeling strings.

When he can’t feel more being sprayed on him, Yousef opens his eyes and wipes them free.

He simply holds his hand out which Sana now narrows her eyes at suspiciously.

“Let me see that.”, Yousef says, still having his hand extended to Sana.

She just shrugs and hands it to him, it’s empty now anyway. All of its content on Yousef now.

Yousef takes it, says thanks, and throws the can away.

He can hear Sana laugh at that loudly, he can’t really see her yet, but he can hear her.

Shaking his head, noticing some of the strings falling to the ground, he raises his hands and fills them with silly strings collected on his head.

Now he can see Sana better and now she doesn’t expect him to do anything so he steps closer to her quickly and dumps all of what is in his hands on her head. She closes her eyes instantly and cringes.

“You didn’t..”, she mumbles, jokingly glaring at Yousef, not being able to hide her smile.

Yousef just shrugs. “Did you?”

Sana just shakes her head. This boy is in trouble now and takes a step towards him, Yousef backing away slowly.

While they run around trying to put as much silly string on the other as possible they don’t notice that pictures are being taken of them.

That evening a couple of pictures of them covered in silly string get published on the Internet and well, not even Sana and Yousef can deny that these pictures are really cute.

  
-x-

  
Yousef knew there would be a lot of attention on Sana and him at this after-party of some award show. Actually, there was a lot of attention on them at the award show as well, even when they obviously weren’t nominated for anything with their movie yet.

He has been warned by his agent and Sana.

But he wasn’t prepared for this much.

_“Yousef! Have you ever dated another colleague?”_

_“Hey, Yousef! How are things going with Sana Bakkoush?”_

_“Did you hope to get with Sana when you took the role as Hakan?”_

_“Sana, Yousef! Tell us about your love story!”_

_“What do your parents think about Sana?”_

_“Do you already have a wedding date?”_

_“Did you and Sana have your first fight yet? What was it about?”_

None of the many, many, questions Yousef had to answer that evening were about his acting, not about the movie itself. All of those questions were about his relationship with Sana. The fake relationship with Sana. He had to lie all evening. Yousef hates lying; what he values most is honesty and now he is the big liar.

Sana was better at handling the questions. She did not leave his side at the award show and she did not leave his side at the after-party.

When they arrived at the after-party at some hotshot actor’s mansion, Yousef thought he would be free of lying for the night when people dance and drink and don’t pay attention to him.

Of course he was wrong. No reporters this time but actors and actresses, musicians, and especially other newcomers like him kept asking about Sana and his relationship.

The whole night Yousef smiled, he nodded along, tried to not lie too much, choosing his words carefully.

But at one point it just got too much. One of the guests, very drunkenly, stood up on a table, made people stop the music and shouted out for certain people.

“Leandra and Kai! Lily and Mona! Sana and Yousef! The new couples we all instantly loved. Come here, come up here. Let the people see you!”

Yousef knows he can’t do this. He goes very stiff and shakes his head lightly. Sana and Yousef are standing at the window and not in the view of the drunk guy on the table. He really can’t do more lying tonight.

Sana notices how he stiffens and looks like he’s about to pass out. She slips her hand in his and squeezes it lightly. The warmth of her hand in his makes him look at her. Sana’s heart aches seeing him like this. She has noticed him get more and more uncomfortable as the night went on and now he looks like he definitely has had enough.

She makes him turn completely to her. Yousef looks down at her and tries to smile at her but fails.

“Do you want to leave?”

This one sentence from Sana’s mouth makes Yousef so hopeful that this night could be officially over, that the lying could be over for today and he nods.

Sana answers with a nod of her own and starts leaving right away. They dodge people, trying to make a quiet exit but also rushing a lot. Sana’s leading the way, she’s dictating the pace but she also seems in a hurry to leave.

  
-x-

  
“Wow, this is amazing Sana!” Yousef says looking around the roof.

When the cab stopped at this place and Sana made him climb up the old wooden stairs up until the roof Yousef was not sure what to expect. As soon as she had opened the door Yousef was amazed. He did not expect something so nice and now doesn’t know where to look at first. This roof is the  complete opposite of how the rest of the old house looks.

There are plants all around the roof, some at the banisters. Fairy lights, which Sana turns on immediately when they arrive.

When Yousef looks at her confused she shrugs and explains: “Brought a generator.”

He chuckles at Sana’s small laugh and turns back around. Two chairs are facing the banisters and have a small table in between them. Even on the table there is a small plant.    

“How did you find this?” This abandoned building where they are right now is nowhere near the ‘famous’ part of Hollywood so Yousef has no idea of how Sana could’ve find this.

“Actually? In a moment just like this.” Sana looks around the roof, smiling to herself. When her gaze lands on Yousef again, she tells him about that day.  
“I was at my first real Hollywood party and just like you I was feeling a little anxious so when they weren’t paying attention to me I just left. I needed to get as far as I could from there so I took a cab and I just told the driver to, well, drive. After a while I was starting to feel anxious again so I told the driver to stop. I walked down the streets for almost an hour, just exploring the city, I guess. That’s when I found this building. It looked abandoned so I thought that this could be the perfect place for me to rest. You should’ve seen the way this looked the first time I came here.”

“Wait, you decorated all of this, alone?” Yousef raises his eyebrows and looks around him again.

“Of course! Do you think that an abandoned roof would have lights and flowers and a table?, Sana laughs at his surprised look. He keeps looking at the lights and the few pieces of furniture Sana had managed to bring here and smiles at Sana. It looks amazing and that Sana did that all on her own makes him like it even more.

“So you still come here, then.” He states the obvious; the plants are still all green, the generator still works and everything looks really good.

Sana nods, smiling lightly. He seems to like it here, that’s good. When he freaked out like that Sana instantly thought of this place.

“Yeah, I do. When everything just gets too much. Like for you today.” Her last sentence she says more quietly, softer.

Yousef’s eyes land on her again and looking her in the eyes he smiles gratefully.

“Thanks for bringing me here, I really needed some air.” Sana just smiles at that and looks away. In that moment his gaze was too much. He looked at her with so much gratitude and all she did was bring him here. Well, then again…

“You know…it’s the first time I show this place to someone. This is like my secret place.”, Sana mentions, hoping to sound casual and not really looking at Yousef.

The first time? Yousef instinctively steps a bit closer, like he needs to hear more clearly. Suddenly he is overwhelmed and not in the way he was overwhelmed at the party a bit earlier. He doesn’t know what to say but he has to say something.

“Why…why me? Why are you sharing it with me?” He can’t even care that he stuttered.

Sana has been moving a few steps while talking but now she stops. Acting like she’s interested in how her plants look is forgotten when she hears his voice like that. So… vulnerable, somehow and it was only a question.

“I guess I trust you.”, Sana answers him, looking him in the eyes.

Yousef nods and smiles to himself. Sana trusts him. Sana is sharing her secret place with him. Why does this make him so happy? He doesn’t know. Or maybe, maybe he knows but he’s not ready to admit it yet.

“Are you feeling better?” Sana asks him as she leans against the concrete.

“I actually am.” Yousef walks over to her and takes the spot next to her. “I just got overwhelmed with all those questions and all those people. I’m not used to that stuff. I didn’t enter this industry for the attention. I’ve never really liked people to look at me.”

“You don’t like people to look at you…you realize you’re a model, right?” Sana turns her head to him, tilts her head slightly and meets his gaze.

“Yeah, I do…but I never want to be one. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love my job, I really do. But it wasn’t my dream job. I…I just wanted to help my parents.” Up until now Yousef was looking at Sana. Right now he looks at a random point in front of him, his mind going back to when he was a teenager. “My father was fired and my mother was on a leave of absence ‘cause she had just had a hand surgery, nothing too serious but enough for her not to be able to work. We needed money. I had just finished high school and I was looking for a job. One day I saw an ad that said that they were looking for a model. I was desperate, I never thought that they would pick me but I had to try.”

“And they picked you.”, Sana says, immersed in his story. He looks like he’s reliving that time in his head and the unaltered, real look on his face makes her smile.

Yousef faces her again and seeing her smile, smiles himself.

“And they picked me. It’s been 5 years since then and here I am, on a roof with Sana Bakkoush hiding from a party that we were at because we’ve made a movie together. Do you see how weird that is for me?”

Sana nods slowly. Of course she does. She understands what he means. Not noticing that she’s doing that, she places a comforting hand on his arm. With a smile she feels like she has to say the next things, she really believes that.

“You deserve everything you’re getting, Yousef. You’re a great model and an amazing actor. And the fact that you started all of this to help your parents…I’m sure they’re really proud of you.”

Yousef notices that she’s showing him her unmasked self in this moment. Her dimples showing on her cheeks and her eyes trained on him.

“Thank you, I want to think so…You know that when I started to gain money I wanted to buy them a nice house? We’ve always lived in a rather small one. But they wouldn’t allow me to. They want to live in the house where I grew up.”

It would have been hard giving up that house but he’d do anything for his parents, for them to be as fine as they can be.

“That’s really beautiful, I’m sure they have lots of memories of that house.” Sana can’t believe how sweet Yousef is. She knew he was but all of this makes her realize why this movie was so exceptionally important to him.

“Yes. You know my parents have never been very keen on having money. I mean, of course they want to live properly, but they always say that as long as they have clothes to wear and food to eat and a roof above their heads, it’s enough. So when I paid all their debts they wouldn’t take my money anymore. I remember my mother saying ‘Yousef, you’ve already done enough, now it’s time for you to spend that money on yourself. But do it wisely, son’.” His eyes glaze over but he blinks it away. Remembering that time in his life is emotional but not in a bad way.

Sana noticed the tears forming in his eyes and she also noticed him trying to hide that, so she tries to lighten up the mood.

“So…did you buy the nice house for yourself, then?”

Yousef laughs lightly at that question but shakes his head.

“Oh, no. I live in a pretty small apartment, but it’s really nice actually. It’s what I can afford with half of my salary.”

“Half of your salary?”, Sana asks with her eyebrows furrowed.

“Yeah, I…I only use half of my salary every month. I give the other half to charity. There’s this association back in Oslo, it helps kids from humble families, or just kids that don’t have a family at all. They do football matches and sell sweets and make theatre plays and stuff like that. So every month I send them half of my salary. It just feels like the right thing to do, you know? I’ve been one of those kids, seeing your parents struggling every day to have something to eat. I’m so lucky because I don’t have to worry about that anymore, so the least I can do is try to contribute as much as I can. I mean, it doesn’t hurt me at all.”

“Yousef, I’m…impressed. That’s so great. That’s such a selfless thing to do.” At first Sana doesn’t know what to say. He’s such an amazing person. If she thinks too much of this now she will be the one tearing up so once again Sana tries to ask something that would hopefully not lead to that.   
“So, you get along with those kids, then?”

“Oh yes, they’re great. They’re so smart and ambitious. They all want to study, you know? So this association also helps them with their study fees.” He smiles thinking about those kids. He remembers one girl in particular and he can’t help but laugh a little. “There’s this girl, she’s really into science and she’s always saying random facts. Like…did you know that in the brain of cockroaches there are nine different types of amino acids?”

“Amino acids?” Sana asks. She presses her lips together and waits for Yousef to continue.

“Yeah, I think that’s how it’s called.”, Yousef thinks about it hard, trying to remember the exact words.

“Antibiotic molecules. That’s how it’s called.” Sana corrects him with a smile. But then it clicks for Yousef, that’s really what it’s called.

“What? How do you know that?” Sana just looks at him like it’s no big deal knowing this out of nowhere.

Sana looks at the star-lit sky and answers him.

“I…I’m studying biology at university.”

“You are?”, Yousef asks and that’s when she looks back at him. Sana nods.

“Yes. Well, I take classes online. And then I go to university to take the exams. That’s actually why I started acting in the first place. I mean I love acting but my main goal was being able to pay for my studies. I’ve always loved biology, it’s such an interesting subject. It’s like everything that surrounds us comes from it, you know?”

Yousef looks at her smiling. He loves how her eyes light up as soon as they start talking about this. This whole time it was him talking and her listening. She paid attention to everything he said and now, talking about something she’s obviously passionate about, her eyes shine.

“You’re thinking I’m a nerd, aren’t you?”, Sana says, scrunching up her nose, after he doesn’t say anything for a minute.

Yousef shakes his head quickly. No, that’s not it, not in a negative way anyway.

“No, no, of course not. I’m thinking that I’m very impressed, Sana Bakkoush. Not only you’re an amazing actress, you also are a genius. And the fact that you find time to balance both aspects of your life it’s just…impressive.”

“Thanks…”, Sana says, feeling herself blush and lowering her head.

“I have to admit, I’ve never really liked biology, or science at all.” Yousef watches how Sana seems to get a bit embarrassed so he tells her about his relationship with biology.

“Yeah, it happens.” She laughs a little. She’s always been the only one that likes biology in her group of friends so it’s no surprise that he doesn’t like it either. “My father is a surgeon so I guess I’ve grown up around science stuff.”

“So your siblings are into that too?” He remembers her having siblings and maybe that’s something the whole family likes.

“Oh, no, not at all. My oldest brother is into business and Elias…he wants to be a film director.”, Sana tells him, laughing at the thought of her siblings studying medicine or something related to that.

“So the artistic qualities do run in the family then.” He makes Sana shrug laughingly before she answers.

“Yeah, I guess you could say that.”

After that the two of them stand there in silence. They can only hear cars from the distance and they both look out into the distance which they can see quite a bit of from their position on the roof. It’s a comfortable silence but Sana wants to tell Yousef something.

“It’s nice talking to you, I’m glad we finally got to get along.”

The fairly lights that are around the banister reflect in Sana’s eyes and Yousef has to concentrate a lot to not get lost in them in this moment.

“Yeah, I bet that when you wanted me out of the movie you never thought that we would end up being friends.”, Yousef says laughingly, remembering the day they first met.

“What? When I wanted you out of the movie?”, Sana’s smile falls and she turns her whole body towards Yousef.

“Well, you asked the writers to cut my scenes, didn’t you?” Why does she looks so affected by this? She was the one that made that request.

“Who told you that?”, Sana asks him in a serious tone. To her it sounds like someone didn’t tell Yousef the whole story.

“The writers, the first day I arrived.”

“And did they tell you why?”

“They only said that the main actress had made a request. I just assumed that you didn’t want me to…well, take your screentime.” Yousef feels weird saying that. Yes, this was what he thought because that was the only thing he could think of that made sense. Still, the Sana he knows now doesn’t seem like the kind of person to have that kind of motive but that doesn’t change how things happened.

“Oh, Yousef…No that’s not it. That’s not it at all. I should’ve talked to you.” Sana sighs. She really should have talked to him about this sooner. Of course the writers wouldn’t waste time with telling him all about Sana’s thoughts behind that request.  
“Yousef…I…I’m a Muslim girl in an industry run by white men and I’ve managed to make a name for myself. I’ve worked so hard to get here. So I’m a little bit overprotective of my characters. I don’t want to play girls that need to be saved by a man and that forget all their goals when they fall in love. That might be good for other people, but not for me. So when I found out that they had added a random love interest in the movie, when I thought that it wasn’t necessary for the plot, I just…snapped. Yes, I asked for the love character to have less scenes, but that also meant that I had less scenes. It had nothing to do with you. I didn’t know who would play the love interest when I first suggested that either. I’m sorry if I made you feel like I didn’t want you there.”

All Yousef can do for a moment is stare at Sana in shock. How can he be so stupid and directly assume the worst? Then he starts rambling.

“Oh my god, Sana…I’m the one who’s sorry. I shouldn’t have assumed the worst of you. I should’ve asked you why you had made that decision instead of just thinking that you were some kind of diva.”

Oh, that hurt a little. Sana gulps and she looks at Yousef with a look he can’t really understand.

“Wow, that’s what you thought of me?”

“Well…yes.” Yousef starts feeling awful. The hurt look on Sana’s face, which she tries to conceal, makes his chest tighten. “But I don’t anymore. Now I think that you’re one of the most amazing people I know. I really admire you Sana and I’m glad that we could do this project together.”

Sana blinks a few times at the intensity of his answer. He seems like he really wanted her to know that, for her to know that he did not think of her as a diva but as as an amazing person. Yousef seems so genuine that Sana can barely look at him.   
She finally manages to look him in the eyes and smile.

Yousef sighs in a relieved way. He’s glad that Sana is smiling again. That’s something he doesn’t get sick of seeing and something he wishes Sana has a lot of reason to do, she deserves it.

“And you…do you still hate the fact that they added my character?”, Yousef asks, raising his eyebrows expectantly. A small smirk plays on his lips, now knowing that they’re both on the same page.

“I still think that it’s not necessary.”, Sana honestly says but continues with a genuine smile.  
”But if there had to be a love interest, I’m really glad that you’re the one that played him. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”


	8. Chapter 8

 Listening to the phone ring, Sana knows exactly when her brother will pick up. At the fifth ring.

One. Two. Three. Four. Five.

“Hey, sis!”, Elias answers the calls enthusiastically, making Sana laugh.

Sana sits down on her couch and smiles to herself. She really misses her brother, it’s been a while since she saw him in person but hearing his voice makes her feel a little better instantly.

“Hi, Elias.”, she answers in the same tone.  

“I was just about to call you. How are you? How’s life treating you? It’s been so long since we’ve talked”, Sana frowns at Elias’ words. It definitely hasn’t been long since they talked.

“Elias we talk every day. What are you talking about?”

“Well, excuse me if I miss my sister”, Elias says acting a little offended which only makes Sana roll her eyes.

“Okay, okay. You know I miss you too.”

“I know you do. So, how is that boyfriend of yours? Or should I say, fake boyfriend?” Sana can practically see her brother’s grin. He’s just joking but this question almost gives her a heart attack.

“Shh! You’re not at home, are you? Be careful, I don’t want mom and dad to hear you.”, Sana whisper-shouts as if she is the one close to her parents. She just panics. Lying to them is bad enough but getting caught like this would be the worst case scenario.

“Relax, I’m alone right now.”, Elias answers with a laugh. “Tell me, how are your lying skills? From what I’ve seen in the interviews you’re doing just fine.”

Sana rolls her eyes at that tone. Her older brother can act like a child sometimes, or most of the times.

“Since when do you watch my interviews?”

“I may have too much time on my hands…”, Elias reluctantly answers.

“Well, since you already know how my life is going.”, Sana says in a sarcastic tone, “Tell me about you, how are you? How’s the video going?” Since they talk every day Sana always knows about his most recent projects.

Elias hesitates for a moment, which makes Sana wonder. He usually just talks without thinking first.

“Uh…well…you see…there might be a little, tiny, insignificant problem with that…we don’t have actors for the video.” Elias’ response to that question was not what she expected.

“What? How did that happen?” Sana knows just a bit about the concept of the video Elias and the band thought of and that doesn’t work without actors.

Sana hears her older brother sigh at the other end of the line.

“They bailed when they realized that we couldn’t pay them much. I mean, the Balloon Boys are not that famous yet. I’m not even getting paid for making the video either, I’m helping them because they’re friends and I believe in them. So yeah, they left…”

Sana instantly feels bad for them. For the band and her brother. She knows that they were excited for this.

“Oh, Elias, I’m so sorry to hear that. What are you going to do now?”

“Well, actually…we have something in mind…that’s part of why I wanted to call you…” Elias sounds really unsure, which is very unusual.

“Elias, you’re scaring me. What do you want?”, Sana knows Elias’ ‘I need to ask you a favor’ tone way too well and if it’s taking him so long to ask, it can only mean that it’s something she may not like.

“How would you like to be the protagonist of a great Boyband’s music video?” Elias speaks so fast that Sana almost doesn’t understands what he say. But only almost.

“What? Me?”, she asks surprised at the question.

“Please, Sana! We’re desperate. We’re supposed to start filming in a week and we don’t have actors. We need a girl and a boy. If you say yes our two problems get reduced to one. Besides, who better than the great Sana Bakkoush to help us promote the Balloon Boys?”

Sana hears how desperate her brother sounds. Since he started getting more and more involved with trying to achieve his dream of becoming a film director he has been taking every one of his projects dead serious. Still, she is unsure.

“Elias, you know I’d love to help but I don’t know if I’m the most qualified person for that job. I’ve never done that before.”, Sana says, feeling bad about not being able to help like her brother needs her to.

“But all you have to do is act like you’re in love with a boy, just like you do for your movies. Maybe some dance too, but just some tiny moves…I totally get if you don’t want to, but you’d be helping us a lot if you did.”, Elias answers. Acting in a music video is not much different from acting in a movie and he knows his sister would be able to handle anything, really. She’s just that good.

“Okay, fine! I’ll do it.”, Sana caves in. The only reason why she didn’t immediately agree was that she thought she wouldn’t be the best choice. If her brother thinks that she fits into the concept of the music video, well then why wouldn’t she help?

“You will?!” Sana laughs at her brother’s excitement.

To be honest, helping with that music video probably would have more positive aspects for Sana than anyone. She hasn’t been back in Norway for a while now.

“Yes, I mean it’d be a good opportunity to go back home. I miss you all. And I’d be helping you and the boys.”

“Oh Sana, thank you, thank you so much! I owe you one!”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later.”, she says with a smile. Honestly, the thought of going back home and seeing her parents and brother again and the excuse for that being that she’ll be in the music video of a really good band makes Sana grin.

“One thing though Sana..”, Elias’ tone makes Sana worry again. He sounds embarrassed. “We…won’t be able to pay you what you’re used to…”

Sana furrows her eyebrows and shakes her head, even when she knows that he obviously can’t see that.

“Elias what are you talking about? I don’t care about that. I’m doing this for you. I don’t need to get paid at all.”

“No, Sana. We’ll pay you, just not much…” He sounds sure of this, at least. He won’t let his sister work for something with nothing in return.

“I’m telling you Elias, I’ll do it for free.”, Sana is also adamant. It runs in the family.

“Look, I’m not going to start an argument about that right now. We’ll talk about that later, okay?” Elias knows his sister well, and he knows himself well. They won’t get to a final decision now so why even bother.

“Okay…”, Sana gives in, very reluctantly. Even when she’s in her twenties now and even when they’re not even in the same room she doesn’t like to argue with her brother. Not when it’s not necessary.

“And thank you again so much Sana, you’re saving us!”

Sana and Elias hang up after a few more minutes and she leans back, resting her head on the backrest of the couch. She’s happy to go back to Norway, even if it’s just for a few days. Now that the official events for the movie is done, Sana has a bit of free time.

Thinking of work, Sana shoots up in her seat and shakes her head at herself. She just accepted a job without consulting her agent. Or without at least telling Agnes about it before accepting. Sana takes her phone and quickly finds Agnes’ number and presses call.

“Hello?” Agnes answers the call.

“Agnes, my favorite agent, hi!”

“Okay two things, Sana Bakkoush: one, I’m your only agent and two, what do you want?” Sana can’t help but feeling called out by her agent, but once again she’s right, Agnes is her only agent and Sana really wants something from her.

“Fine, I’ll go straight to the point. I’m going to Norway next week.” Sana decides that it’s better to be blunt. If she knows something about Agnes is that she doesn’t like when Sana is vague.

“Wait, what? I thought you weren’t taking a break until next month.”

“Yeah, this is not exactly a break. I’m going for work. I’m helping my brother with a video he’s making for a Norwegian boyband.”, Sana says, mentally preparing herself for Agnes’ outburst in a few seconds.

“You’re what? You took a job offer without telling me?”, Agnes says loudly, not shouting but not exactly in a normal volume either.

Sana needs to make Agnes understand that this is important to her.

“Don’t think about it as a job offer, think about it as a way to help a really great music group with their video. I just have to go there, film some scenes and I’ll be back before you know it.”, Sana explains, trying to soften Agnes up to the thought of Sana leaving the country for a few days.

Sana hears her agent sigh.

“Sana, I don’t know if that project is adequate for you…”

Well, that makes Sana even more sure that she’s going to go to Norway and be in that video. She knows having big roles in huge productions is amazing and something she can enjoy now, after all the work she did to reach this point. But that doesn’t mean she can’t do anything but blockbusters.

“What you’re saying is that you think it’s too small for me, isn’t it? Well, honestly Agnes, I’m not asking for your permission. I’ve already said yes and I’m going to keep my word.”

“And what about Yousef? You two are still dating. Wouldn’t it be weird if you just go and leave him here? You know you can’t break up yet ‘cause it’d be weird if you did just after the movie.”

Rolling her eyes, this time Sana sighs. As if people in real relationship never go anywhere without their partner but she understands Agnes. Leaving Yousef ‘alone’ in LA while she is gone, back at home, would come off as if they had a fight or something to the media. They’re from the same city, after all.

“Well, I’ll find a way to solve that.”

  
-x-

  
As soon as she steps out of the airport, Sana takes a moment. She looks around herself and takes a deep breath. All she saw so far, in this visit back home, was the airport but even that felt so good. Because she knows she’ll be able to go home, see her family and not only on a screen.

Even people around her speaking Norwegian makes her smile widely. The only other person she heard talk that language in the past months, except for her family and friends from Norway, was Yousef.

Now she’s standing here, trying to soak in some of the sunlight until her brother comes to pick her up. When someone had told her that she would get so excited to see Elias just a few years ago, she would have laughed. Not because she doesn’t love him, she does. But their ages being so close meant that they had small petty fights about anything when they were just a bit younger.

Her memories about old times with her brother are interrupted by someone laughing right next to her. Without even looking she knows who’s laughing, but still she faces him as she narrows her eyes.

“What?”

“Nothing, nothing…It’s just…You’re standing there looking at the horizon as if you are in some kind of trance”

Sana rolls her eyes at his words and sighs. Maybe she got too carried away by her memories, but she really missed Norway.

“Well, I’m sorry if you’ve already changed Oslo for Hollywood, Yousef, but I’ve really missed my hometown.”

Yousef raises his eyebrows at first but then switches to narrowing his eyes at Sana. Exchanging Oslo for Hollywood… Yousef would never do that. He looks at Sana with a look as if to say ‘Do you really think I would?’.

The many changes of Yousef’s facial expressions in the past minute alone make Sana laugh but she presses her lips together and waits if he is going to say something or if he’s just trying to convey whatever he’s thinking through charades.

Finally he throws up his hands and shakes his head disapprovingly. “Sana, you really think I would do that?”, then he tilts his head slightly and a small smirk appears on his lips. “Is this how you thank me for being the reason you’re here right now?”

Sana knows he’s joking but she acts like she doesn’t. “Oh please. Don’t get too cocky. I would have found another argument to convince Agnes. Or just come anyway, I’m an adult.”

Yousef leans closer to her and whispers: “An adult that has to take her fake-boyfriend with her to her hometown because her agent wouldn’t approve otherwise.” He steps back with a grin and looks at Sana all innocently.

“That fake-boyfriend can be a fake ex-boyfriend real quick.”, Sana whispers to him and turns away, but seeing a glimpse of the shocked look on Yousef’s face.

  
-x-  


Meeting the band whose music Yousef was introduced to just a couple of weeks ago was more exciting to him than he could have imagined it to be.

Sana and Yousef went to the dance-studio together to meet the boys there. The band consisting of Mikael, Mutasim and Adam, three guys that instantly make Yousef like them just by the way they are. They seem like really nice, talented people.

The other guy Yousef met for the first time was Elias, Sana’s older brother. It is just a fake relationship, Yousef thinks to himself. Still, he worries that Sana’s brother might not like him. Pretending to be dating or not, Yousef would hate that.

When Sana had asked Yousef to come with her to Norway to star in a videoclip of that Boyband she had shown him a few months ago he had doubt at first. It was a big responsibility and he wasn’t sure he would be any good at it. But Sana really needed him there. It was the only way Agnes would be okay with her leaving. Plus, the boys were desperately looking for an actor. They already had Sana so what would be better than having Yousef too? One of the most commented couple of Hollywood starring in a videoclip together. That had all the ingredients to be a success. Yousef just hopes it goes as expected. These boys seem really nice and Sana is really excited about helping them. He wouldn’t want anything to ruin that.

All, or most of Yousef’s doubts vanish into thin air when he hears what the boys had planned for the video. Up until then he didn’t know what the concept was, except for the fact that Sana and him would be playing a couple. Now, when Mikael and one of his dance partners from his dance crew show Sana and Yousef what they would need to do, Yousef feels so much better.

The dance routine they are being shown is amazing. Yousef loves dancing and has always loved it. That’s something he can do and Mikael told Sana and Yousef that they could change small parts if they wanted to which makes Yousef even more excited.

It has been a while since Yousef had to dance for a project so this is very welcome for him.

Sana on the other hand, she looks petrified. Her brother did not tell her that she needed to dance, at least not like this. ‘A little bit of dancing’ is not this complex choreography. When she looks at Yousef searching for moral support she hopes to see him as scared as she is. Well, her hopes are crashed. Not only Yousef doesn’t look scared at all but he looks like little kid opening their birthday presents. He looks so excited, a big smile on his face, his eyes shining. He’s even moving his right foot to the rhythm of the music. Great, just great. If Sana was thinking that she would find a way to get rid of the dance now she knows that’s not going to happen. She has to admit though, that seeing Yousef so passionate about it makes her heart melt a little bit. She really likes seeing him like that.

Sana thought, or hoped, that the choreography would seem less impossible for her to do once they slowed down and thought them the moves one by one.

Well, she’s still overwhelmed, even while Mikael and Aima honestly try to make the moves as easy to replicate as possible. All Sana can think is that she is in no way a dancer. Not at all. Some of these steps will be totally butchered by her, she thinks.

Yousef, well he is ready to try all of them the second he sees them.

At least the beginning is easy. All they have to do is hug each other and sway to the rhythm of the music. It’s not like Sana is nervous about the proximity. It’s not like her hands shake as she rests them on Yousef’s back. It’s not like her breath becomes uneven when she feels his on her neck. Not at all.

She is really glad that Yousef seems to know what he is doing. With his hands on her waist he leads the next steps. It’s just rehearsal but they are trying to get this in one whole thing. Sana is very aware of his hands on her waist, resting there carefully, not moving anywhere else.

Then one of Sana’s favorite parts comes. Even though she feels a little disappointed at the loss of the warmth coming from his hands on her waist, Sana tries her hardest to not smile too much. Honestly, partly because she is a bit nervous that Yousef could really fall on her. He is supposed to let himself ‘fall’ towards her. He does, not even thinking about it twice and Sana puts her hands out, against his chest. ‘pushing’ him away. When their eyes meet while doing that, they both start smiling at each other.

The next move, Sana needs to focus really hard so she doesn’t laugh while doing it. Yousef has to look away. Then she puts her hand on his cheek and ‘forces’ him to look at her again. She really likes that move but somehow she feels weird doing that. Still, she just goes for it and surprisingly she does it right. What happens next, Sana is not able to foresee it.

The thing is that she knows that the jump is right in that moment. She’s seen Mikael and Aima doing it before. But she doesn’t think that Yousef would go for it in their first rehearsal. It seems like such a big deal, at least for her, so she thought that maybe it’d need a special rehearsal just to get it right. Well, apparently Yousef doesn’t need that. Because as soon as Sana ‘forces’ him to look at her, he places his hands on her waist and effortlessly lifts her. Sana is so surprised by it that she can’t help but gasp as she puts her hands on his shoulders so she doesn’t fall, not like Yousef seems like he could let her fall anyway. As he moves her from one side to another and leaves her back on the floor again she looks at him with wide eyes and her mouth slightly opened. She knows that Yousef is a good dancer, she knows that he’s definitely strong, but the way he simply lifted her like she doesn’t weigh anything at all took her completely by surprise.

When Yousef sets Sana down on her feet again, his hands still on her waist, he looks at her with a content smile. He’s happy that it went so well the first time they tried the lift but then he notices Sana looking at him with wide eyes and furrows his eyebrows. Did he hurt her in some way while lifting her? But then her facial expression softens and Sana smiles at him. Yousef answers with a smile of his own and without having to say anything they both continue with the dance.

Some of the moves from Mikael’s original choreography Sana and Yousef won’t do, because they’re too hard to learn in such a short amount of time. At least for Sana. Still, Sana and Yousef try to do some of the complicated lifting and spinning moves.

After one of those spinning moves where Sana has to be lifted by Yousef and spun while she only has her hands at his neck, Yousef sets her down right in front of him and they have to lean their foreheads against each other and look each other in the eyes.

The close proximity, the fact that Sana always looks a little surprised when she lands on her feet and just the intensity they are supposed to show, and maybe even feel, make Sana and Yousef laugh. Every time they get to that point, Sana leans up and Yousef down to rest their forehead against each other, they start grinning and end up laughing.

Up until now they’ve managed to get all the steps right, or at least, not completely messed up. Actually Sana feels very proud of herself. She thought she wouldn’t be able to do any of the moves Mikael and Aima had shown them, but she was wrong.

But then…then the big moment comes. Sana has been dreading this moment since she saw it for the first time. In this move, the responsibility, the initiative is completely on Sana.

As they sway to the rhythm of the music, Sana’s hands on Yousef’s neck, Yousef’s hands on Sana’s waist, she feels her heart pounding fast on her chest. The moment has arrived. With Yousef’s help she lets herself ‘fall’ backwards, Yousef’s hands on her back, in the most cliche kind of way. But then is when she freezes. She’s supposed to lift her legs only to then push herself off the ground so Yousef can let her back on her feet, right in front of him, after she jumps with the possibility of her falling on her face if she slips. The thing is that she can’t lift her legs. It’s like they’re glued to the floor. The music keeps playing, they’ve already missed the exact point when the move has to be made but no one seems to really care. All they care is about the fact that Sana is still on Yousef’s arm, a panicked look on her face.

“Come on, Sana. You can do this.” Yousef nods at  Sana, looking in her eyes.

“I can’t.” It’s all that Sana can say. It’s kind of awkward the fact that they’re still in that position, Sana leaned backwards on Yousef’s arms, but she’s completely frozen.

“Of course you can. You don’t have to be afraid, I’m right here.” Yousef reassures her. He completely understands her reaction. It’s the first time she dances and she’s been doing it perfectly. This lift though, he gets how scary it can look but there’s no way he’d let her fall.

Sana shakes her head and closes her eyes. She tightens her grip on Yousef’s neck. She feels so embarrassed right now. She can feel everyone’s eyes on her and the heat on her cheeks as she blushes.

“Sana, look at me.” Yousef asks her. When she doesn’t he repeats it in a lower voice. “Look at me Sana.”

She slowly opens her eyes after taking a deep breath. He’s looking at her in such a soft way that she can literally feel the tension leaving her body. How is it possible for one look to have that effect on her?

“Do you trust me?”

Does she trust him? In any other moment she would’ve laughed at the question, probably say some snarky comment to tease him. But right now all she can do is swallow and nod. Of course she trusts him. How wouldn’t she?

“Yes.”, she says. As unsure she is about this move, as sure she is of this answer.

“Then lift your legs. I won’t let you fall. Never.”

  
-x-

  
Sana looks away from Yousef when her brother starts talking. At first she doesn’t really listen, she can’t. She’s too happy about how this first rehearsal went. How Yousef made it so much easier for her. Now he is standing at the other end of the room, talking to the Balloon Boys.

“Sana, are you listening?”, she hears her older brother say.

Sana looks at Elias and nods quickly, not convincing her brother.

“So, you sure that you’re just pretending to be dating?”, he asks with a grin, leaning closer to her.

Sana’s eyes widen and she hits her brother lightly against the arm. He should know not to talk about that like this, in public, where people can hear him. And she really doesn’t want to have this conversation, seeing as his tone indicated something she won’t talk about now.

“What did you want to talk about?”, Sana asks, crossing her arms in front of her chest, “Before you started saying stupid things.”

Elias rolls his eyes at his little sister, ever so stubborn to get her way of things. However, it’s fine by him. He needs to talk about this and the sooner the better.

“We need to talk about the money.” Elias says going straight to the point.

“Elias, you’re at it, again? I told you. I’m doing this for you and for the boys. I don’t need to be paid.”

“No, Sana. Neither the boys nor I are okay with you not getting paid. This is work. You’re working. Even if you’re my sister, you should get paid. Sure, we won’t be able to pay you and Yousef as much as you’re used to but you have to take it.”

Sana shakes her head and sighs. And she thought she was the stubborn of the family. Well, clearly her brother is fighting to earn that title. As she looks away from Elias her eyes land on Yousef who’s too busy talking to the boys to notice her look. She can’t help but smile as she remembers a certain conversation they had in her, their, secret place not long ago. That gives her an idea.

“Okay, let’s make a deal that we’ll both like.” Sana says looking back at her brother. “I’ll accept the money, but not for me, for Yousef. You pay both of our salaries to him.”

“What? Why?”, Elias asks with the most confused look on his face that Sana almost starts laughing.

Instead she just shrugs and lets her gaze wander to Yousef again, staying there while answering her brother.

“Like I said, I don’t need to be paid. And something tells me that he’ll make good use of that money.”

“Are you sure?”, Elias asks and that’s when Sana looks back at him again.

“Positive.”, she says while nodding and smiling. She’s sure.

“Okay then, you’re boyfriend will get the money. It’s better than anything.” Elias agrees, it’s not like he has any chance on winning an argument against his sister. That doesn’t mean that he can’t still try to tease her again. “So about you and Yousef…What was that straight from Titanic conversation you had over there? With the whole do you trust me, I trust you thing.”

“First of all, since when do you like Titanic? And second of all…bye Elias.”

  
-x-  


“Ready to go?”

Yousef looks up from his bag to Sana and nods with a big smile. He puts his duffle bag on his shoulder and falls in step next to Sana. They’re comfortable enough with each other to not have to talk every minute they are together. Still, Yousef looks down at Sana and when he sees her smiling to herself, a happy smile finds its place on his face too.

“Is Elias not coming?”, Yousef asks, looking back right before they leave the studio.

“He’s just talking to the band about something really quick. He’s our ride so he should join us soon.”, Sana answers laughing lightly. She’s a little exhausted but she’s really happy about the rehearsal they had today.

“And speaking of Elias…”, Sana continues, looking up at Yousef, who is already looking at her.

When Sana doesn’t finish her sentence right then Yousef starts to wonder what she could be wanting to tell him regarding her older brother. Her older brother that thinks Yousef is his little sister’s boyfriend. Yousef gets irrationally nervous but tries to hide it with a small smile. “He’s feeling kind of bad…and so am I”

“Bad? Why? What happened?” If he was nervous before now he can’t even try to hide it. “Is everything okay?”

“Yes, yes of course. Don’t worry, everything is fine. It’s just…we kind of feel bad because you’re not going to get paid as much as you’re used to. And we really appreciate what you’re doing for them, for us. We wish we could pay you more but the boys are not that famous yet and…”

“Sana, Sana, stop. What are you talking about?” Yousef is honestly confused. Sana apologizing because he’s not getting paid as much as ‘he’s used to’ is the last thing he expected her to say. “I wasn’t even counting on getting paid. I’m doing this for you…for the boys. I mean for you and the boys, for all of you, as a whole.”

Sana raises her eyebrows at his words. She doesn’t know what surprises her the most, the fact that he wasn’t counting on getting paid or the fact that he got so nervous trying to explain what he meant with ‘you’. Well, at this point, Yousef rambling shouldn’t be a surprise.  Still, she finds it really endearing.

“What I want to say is…” Yousef says after he collects himself. “I’m not going to accept your or Elias’ money. I’m doing this because I believe in this project. Besides, I’m enjoying this a lot. I should be thanking you for letting me be part of this.”

“Well, it’s not like I had any choice…you know Agnes didn’t let me come without you.”, Sana says, shrugging. But when she looks up at Yousef again she can’t stop herself from smiling. He’s looking at her with his eyes playfully narrowed at her.

With a small smirk Yousef answers to that, crossing his arms over his chest and tilting his head slightly.

“Oh come one, we both know you would’ve come anyway. If I’ve learned something about you in the past months is that you don’t do anything if you don’t think it’s the right thing to do. So if I’m here is because you want me here…even just a little bit?”

Sana presses her lips together, wondering how she should answer to that.

“Maybe…But that’s not the point. The point is that you’re getting paid.”, she waves the first topic off and gets back to the main issue.

“No, I’m not. Are you getting paid?”, Yousef rolls his eyes at Sana, shaking his head. He talks in a tone that suggests that it’s the most obvious thing.

“No, because this is my brother’s project.” Now it’s Sana who is crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well, this is my brother-in-law’s project. So I’m not getting paid either. You can give Elias his money.”, Yousef says, very sure of this, and turns away from Sana dramatically to make a point.

Shaking her head laughingly Sana starts talking which makes Yousef turn back to face her.  

“I think…I think I may have a better idea.” Sana says as something comes to her mind. She looks at Yousef and smiles. “What was the name of that charity association of yours?”

————————————————————

_[The dance Sana and Yousef rehearse ](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DQJJZ9Ym6ekc&t=MGQwNjUyODRlNjQ0ZjdhZjE5NDliMjQ3YjlmNjY2MTlkZjRkZWNiMSx0U2hIcFVwdQ%3D%3D&b=t%3A0CPOId9OjJW8c4p9q3zeWw&p=http%3A%2F%2Fnothesc.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F164062527455%2Fmove-together-a-yousana-au-chapter-8&m=1) _

Next chapter will be up tomorrow since it’s the second part of this one


	9. Chapter 9

Standing in front of the house Sana grew up in Yousef looks up at the facade of it. It looks really nice. Somehow, the first thought he has is ‘which window was Sana’s?’.

“Yousef, meeting mom and dad now … well, good luck.”, he hears Sana’s older brother say which snaps him out of his thoughts.

Yousef looks at Elias and sees him smiling at him with a knowing look on his face. What is that supposed to mean? Should he be worried? Sana and  Elias are really nice people so the people that raised them can’t be much different, can they? A feeling of panic raises in his chest and he instinctively looks at Sana.

She just shakes his head and sends a glare towards her brother.

“Don’t listen to Elias. Mom and Dad are the nicest people, believe me.”, Sana says.

Elias hears her, trying to calm her ‘fake’ boyfriend down. It’s really hilarious how panicked he looked when Elias said that.

He watches as Yousef’s face softens and he calms down just by looking at Sana. His sister smiles at Yousef and nods at him reassuringly.

Yes, pretending to be in a relationship. For sure.

“Okay lovebirds, let’s go!”, Elias calls over his shoulder, unlocking the door. He stands there, holding the door open for Sana and Yousef.

While walking past him, Yousef smiles at Elias, trying to conceal his nerves. Doesn’t work. It’s very obvious. And he is supposed to be a great actor, according to the many critics that commented on Sana and Yousef’s new movie.

“Mom! Dad! He’s here!” Elias yells at they enter the hallway. Then he adds in a lower voice but loud enough for Yousef to hear, “Let the questioning begin.”

To say that Sana’s parents come to meet them fastly would be an understatement. Not even ten seconds after they enter the house, they’re already there, a big smile on their faces as they greet their kids.

“Mom, dad, this is Yousef.” Sana says pointing at her fake boyfriend with a hand gesture, “My boyfriend.”

Yousef swallows. He doesn’t really know what to expect. He knows that Sana has already told them about their relationship and according to her they took it pretty well. But it’s one thing to say that they’re okay with it over the phone and it’s a very different thing having their daughter’s boyfriend standing right in front of them.

Yousef is so nervous that he quickly takes a step closer and extends his hand to Sana’s father. He shakes it and Yousef says the first thing that comes to his mind, the most overused phrase: “Mr. Bakkoush, it’s so great to finally meet you. Sana has told me a lot about you.”

Looking at Sana’s mother, who extends her hand for him to shake as well, Yousef adds: “And of course about you too, Mrs. Bakkoush.”

Elias and Sana are standing shoulder to shoulder watching the scene in front of them play out. Yousef being a somewhat charming mess, their parents looking at him with two very different looks on their faces. While Sana’s father just has a neutral look on his face, looking Yousef up and down and making a picture of him in his mind, Sana’s mother has a smile playing on her lips but a suspicious look in her eyes. Sana knows it’s not because of Yousef per se but about him being her boyfriend. Sana’s mother has always been very cautious about boys that were interested in her daughter. Her parents only want the best for their daughter but Mrs. Bakkoush is not the best at hiding her thoughts.

 

-x-

 

“This is delicious, Mrs. Bakkoush.” Yousef says taking a sip of his drink. He has tasted Moroccan food before but nothing like this.

“Thank you, Yousef. You’re very nice.”

“So, Yousef. Tell us a little about yourself. You’re from Oslo, right?” Sana’s father asks him.

“Yes. I was born here. My parents are from Turkey, though. So I consider myself from both Norway and Turkey.”

“Turkey seems like such a nice country.” Sana’s mother comments. She’s never traveled much but Turkey is definitely a country she’ll like to visit.

“Yes, I may be a little biased but I love Turkey. Its people, its food, its Mosques, its costumes. It’s something worth seeing.” Yousef loves talking about his country. He used to go there every year but since he started modeling he hasn’t gone that often.

“I’d love to go to Turkey one day. It’s definitely on my bucket list.” Sana says, looking at Yousef with a smile, making Yousef see that she really thought about going there someday.  

“Maybe one day I’ll take you.” Yousef tells her, a huge smile on his lips.

Sana doesn’t miss the amused look her parents give them but in that moment she doesn’t really care. She’s too focused on trying to act like her heart isn’t melting and her cheeks aren’t burning with heat.

“So Yousef, going back to talk about you. How are you getting used to the public life? How’s Hollywood treating you?” Sana’s father insists on knowing more about the boy that his daughter is dating.

“Well, I have to say that I was really scared at first about taking the leap and going to Hollywood. But Sana has helped me a lot with my new life. She’s been by my side, supporting me since day one.” He looks at Sana and smiles, she’s really been very important for him these past few months. He doesn’t know how he could’ve survived them without her.

“You seem very down to Earth, like you haven’t let fame get to your head.” Sana’s mother points out.

“I feel very lucky to be where I am right now, being known outside Norway, that’s huge. But I don’t forget where I come from. My parents have taught me that the most important thing in this life is to be humble and I like to think that I am.”

“Oh, you are.” Sana says nodding at him. She then turns to her parents and adds proudly. “Yousef here collaborates with a charity association here in Oslo. It helps kids from humble families. He gives them half of his salary every month and they organize football matches and stuff like that. They also help kids with their study fees.”

Yousef looks at Sana, half surprised that she remembers that, half embarrassed that she’s saying all that stuff out loud and in front of her parents. He doesn’t do any of that so he can get recognized. Still, the look of pride that can be seen in Sana’s face makes him very happy.

Elias, who has been listening with the whole conversation without making any comment, looks up at his sister with a knowing look. So that’s what she meant when she said that he’d give the money a good use. Once again, Elias starts to doubt that all that’s between Sana and Yousef  is fake.

“That’s very lovely, Yousef.” Sana’s mother says impressed. She was already liking this boy but with that last piece of information he gained a lot of points.

“Yeah…Thanks” Yousef says sheepishly. He then remembers something and smiles broadly at the people around him. “Actually, there’s this event, it’s a football match but there will be food and music too. It’s in a couple of day and I was thinking that maybe you’d like to come?”

“I’d love to. We’d love to.” Sana says maybe too excited. But being honest, in that moment she doesn’t really care. Ever since Yousef told her about the association she’s been wanting to contribute. This is the perfect chance.

“So you’re a model, an actor and you also contribute to charity. You really seem like a good boy Yousef.” Sana’s father looks from Yousef to his daughter and then back to Yousef. “I’ve been meaning to tell you…Thank you for defending our daughter from that interviewer. That was very brave of you.”

Yousef doesn’t have to think long about which interviewer he means. A lot of people have been talking about that particular interview where Yousef could not bite his tongue when the interviewer was all kinds of ignorant.

“Oh.. no.”, Yousef says. “It’s really nothing to thank me for.”

Yousef looks at Sana, who has her lips pressed together and looks at him. With his eyes on her, he continues.

“I know that Sana doesn’t need anyone to defend her. She’s so badass, she handles everything really great on her own.” When Sana raises her eyebrows slightly in surprise, Yousef decides to look away. Otherwise he might forget what he wants to say.

“But in that moment I just couldn’t stop myself from answering because that question felt just very wrong. Even for me and I don’t get asked those kind of questions. I know it’s harder for women in the industry and I can only imagine how hard it must be for a Muslim hijabi woman that is not even from the US. Sana is such a talented actress and does an amazing job with all her projects but still gets asked stuff like that. So … Sana could have handled it on her own just perfectly but I couldn’t help myself.”

Elias looks from his family members to Yousef. He barely knows this man that is pretending to be Sana’s boyfriend but in that moment he feels very proud of the way Yousef thinks and the way he acted then and the way he acts around Sana now.

Seeing Sana’s soft look on her face, a tiny smile on her lips, and her lips slightly parted when looking at Yousef, Elias is sure that there is not just an act for the public going on.

 

-x-

 

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Hey! Thank you for coming yesterday. My parents loved you.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  They actually want you to come today for lunch if that’s okay with you?

 **Yousef Acar:**  Ah, I’d love to but I already have plans. I’m meeting some friends.

 **Yousef Acar:**  I’m sorry. I thought we could use a day of not pretending.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Oh, it’s okay. Of course. Go meet your friends.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I hope you enjoy your day of not pretending.

 **Yousef Acar:**  You too!. I’ll pick you up tomorrow for the charity event so we can go together.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Okay.

 

-x-

 

Yousef didn’t really realize how much he missed this. It’s not a big football club they’re at. The field is not the best kept one, the finances are directed more to trikots and such. But he grew up around here. Playing football was his favorite thing to do besides dancing. He would meet his friends here, almost every day after school.

Now he sees other kids run around and look as happy as he was being here when he was younger.

“Yousef!”, he hears someone shout and snaps out of his nostalgic thoughts.

“Guys, Yousef is here!”, someone else shouts and then Yousef finds the small group of children who called for him. They’re all running towards him with big smiles.

Before he can even process it, he’s surrounded by a group of around 12  kids. Some of them are hugging him, some of them are jumping excited to see him, some of them are just standing there looking at him. But all of them are smiling. And the one who has the biggest smile, that’s definitely Yousef.

He’s missed them. He knows the names of each one of the kids standing in front of him. He knows their ages and the things they like. He knows that Emmelie loves drawing but she only uses bright colors because she thinks it’s prettier. He knows that Ali’s favorite food it’s pizza, but only the one that doesn’t have anything green on it, he hates green. He knows that Mahealani loves books and that she always reads the last page first because if she doesn’t like the ending she’s not reading it. He knows that Kadri has a scar on his knee, Yousef was there with him when he fell while playing football, in fact, Yousef was the one that cleaned his wound. And he knows that Nadine loves science and that she’s always learning random facts about it, like certain bug having nine types of a certain thing Yousef will never get its name right, in their brains.

While Yousef is being attacked by greetings of a dozen children, Sana stand a few steps away from them and watches them fondly. As soon as the children saw Yousef they stormed over to him.

Now Sana watches how Yousef hugs each of them, asking about one boy’s pet, about another boy’s sister, about a girl’s school work and about another girl’s very promising football career.

Sana only hears parts of what they all are talking about, Yousef seems to have ten different conversations at the same time but he doesn’t seem to mind. Not in the slightest. Seeing him smile so broadly makes Sana smile too. Her heart grows at the sight in front of her. How is it possible for all these children to like Yousef? But well, Sana knows how charming he can be.

 

-x-

 

“Is this really necessary?”, Sana asks for the third time as they reach Yousef’s house.

Only an hour ago they had been in the charity event for Yousef’s association. And only an hour ago had Yousef remembered a tiny little thing, he was supposed to invite Sana over for dinner at his parents’ house. Maybe he had forgotten. Maybe he just didn’t want to give Sana time to make an excuse and not coming. The thing is that now they’re both standing outside the Acar’s house and Sana is definitely not thrilled about entering.

“Sana, I met your parents. It’s only fair that you meet mine.” Yousef says and Sana knows he’s right. He beared a whole night at her house, the least she can do is do the same.

But she can’t help but feeling anxious about it. She knows that Yousef’s parents are probably nice people, they’ve raised Yousef after all, but she’s meeting them for the first time. And as his girlfriend. As his actress girlfriend whose movie has kept their son away from their house. She thinks she’s allowed to feel a little bit nervous about meeting them. Still, she knows she can’t back down now.

“Okay, fine. Let’s do this.”

Yousef unlocks the front door and lets Sana enter the house first. She does, but she barely moves after that. The smell of delicious food reaches her nose but even that can’t make her move until Yousef is by her side, she’s too nervous.

“Yousef? Are you home?”, Sana hears being called, probably by his mother. She freezes and quickly looks behind her to find Yousef look at her smilingly.

While Sana takes off her shoes and tries to mentally prepare herself for the rest of the night, she doesn’t realize that Yousef’s parents came to meet them in the hallway. Again, Sana has to concentrate and actively try to breathe regularly. Why is she so nervous?

“Oh, dear. You must be Sana!”, the woman, Yousef’s mother, says as she goes to hug Sana. “You’re even more beautiful in person!”

“We heard so much about you. Welcome, let’s not stand around in the hallway.”, Yousef’s father, who looks insanely like Yousef, just a bit older. He’s talking more calmly and smiles at Sana.

Sana instantly feels more at ease. She smiles and opens her mouth to say Hello and thank them but she’s interrupted. By her phone. It’s time for Asr prayer. Being at the football field all morning Sana completely forgot about the time.

She hurries to stop the azaan coming from her phone but then hears the same thing coming from somewhere other in the house. With a small smile she looks up at Yousef’s parents. They’re looking at each other first, smiling, then at Sana.

“I’m sorry.”, Sana says, and extends her hand to Yousef’s father. She looks between Yousef’s parents as she says: “It’s great to finally meet you and thank you for inviting me over to dinner.”

“Of course. We wanted to meet the girl Yousef has been talking about.”, Yousef’s mother says, sending a knowing look towards her son who just furiously shakes his head at her. Since he’s standing behind Sana she can’t see.

Sana already really likes Yousef’s mother. She seems like such a sweet person.

“Eh..”, Sana doesn’t know how to ask  because they are supposed to have dinner now. So she just asks straight out: “Is there a room I could use to…uh…”

“Pray? Of course there is. Just come with me, I’ll show you.”, Yousef’s mother says with a smile. She takes a step back and Sana falls in step behind her. While walking away she looks over her shoulder and sees Yousef looking at her walk away. He has his hands in his pockets of his jacket but still attempts to wave at Sana. She presses her lips together to not laugh and turns away.

With Sana in the next room, there is nothing that keeps Yousef’s parents from gushing about how lovely she seems and how impressed they are with her even if they did not talk for more than three minutes.

“It’s such a nice thing to see that the fame didn’t make her get distanced from her faith. She’s really lovely.”, Yousef’s mother says to her son, sitting on the armrest of the couch.

Yousef grins at his mother. Yes, that’s indeed nice and she really is lovely.

“She seems so down to earth. I like her.”, Yousef’s father comments. He’s usually pretty laid back and doesn’t talk if he doesn’t think it’s necessary.

Seeing his parents love Sana already, after only a few minutes of actually talking to her, makes Yousef happier than he imagined any development of this evening could make him.

“Yeah, I like her too.”

His parents don’t miss the look on Yousef’s face. One that he could not hide quickly enough. He knows what kind of comments await him so he stands up from his spot on the couch.

“Okay, I’m going to go pray now too. Please don’t talk about her while I’m gone. She could hear you and we all know that you two are going to embarrass me enough during dinner. We don’t need to start that even earlier.”

 

-x-

 

**PICTURE** : Yousef Acar hugging the unknown girl closely.

 **PICTURE** : The actor and the mysterious girl leaving a coffee shop together.

 **PICTURE** : Unknown girl and Yousef Acar getting cozy at ‘date’

 **PICTURE** : Yousef lending his jacket to the girl to prevent her from getting cold.

 **PICTURE** : Acar and unknown girl leaving in the same car probably heading to the actor’s residence in Norway.


	10. Chapter 10

“What is this?”

Yousef catches the magazine she just threw at him and looks at her confused.

When Sana had asked him if she could go to his apartment to talk he wasn’t expecting her to storm in as soon as he opened the door, yelling and throwing a magazine at him.

“A magazine?” Yousef asks. The look that Sana gives him makes clear that that wasn’t the answer she wants to hear..

“Don’t play with me, Acar. How could you do this?” She’s now standing in the middle of Yousef’s living room, hands on her hips, eyebrows as furrowed as it’s humanly possible, her lips pressed together forming a line. Yeah, she’s definitely not happy but Yousef doesn’t know why.

“Sana, I swear I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He still hasn’t looked at the magazine but as he’s about to do so, it’s not in his hands anymore. Sana has taken a few steps closer to him and has grabbed the magazine from his hands. She opens it and starts reading as she paces up and down the living room.

“Yousef Acar (24) was seen last week in company of a mysterious girl. The actor, who’s dating co-star Sana Bakkoush, greeted the girl with a fond hug and a kiss on the cheek. They went inside a coffee shop where they spent almost two hours. Apparently coffee dates are Yousef’s thing. Let’s remember that that’s how the speculation about his relationship with Sana Bakkoush, which was later confirmed by the actors themselves, started. After leaving the coffee shop, Yousef Acar, always a gentleman, lent his jacket to his girl so she didn’t get cold. What will his girlfriend have to say about this? Is she not getting Yousef’s jacket anymore?.

The actor and the girl, whose name we haven’t been able to find yet, left in the same car and were not seen again.  
It’s only fair to remember that the actor has a house in the city and that according to our sources Sana Bakkoush spent the day with her family.

Was Yousef maybe a too good of a host for that girl?

We’ll keep you informed”

As she finishes reading it she throws the magazine at Yousef again. This time as soon as he has it in his hands he looks down at the article and pictures. He widens his eyes and opens his mouth to say something but he’s too taken aback to let the words out. Instead, all he can do is look up at Sana.

“Well Yousef, please keep me informed. I’m dying to know. How long have you been cheating on me?”, Sana says in a very sharp tone, making Yousef even more confused. The Sana he came to knew is not like this.

“What? I’m not cheating on you…I mean we’re not even dating!”

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say because Sana laughs humorlessly and raises her eyebrows at Yousef suspiciously.

“You know what I mean!” Sana says exasperated.

“Look, Sana, it’s not what it looks like.”, he tries to calm the very angry looking Sana.

Sana tilts her head slightly and narrows her eyes at him. Is he for real?

“I’ve acted in too many romantic movies for that excuse to work on me, Acar.”

“What? It’s not an excuse, she really is just a friend. And since when do you call me Acar?” Yousef really doesn’t know where all this is coming from? It’s not even true. Well, and it hurts a little that Sana talk to him in the same tone she had used in the very beginning.

“Since you decided to hook up with another girl!” She yells, then she adds more to herself than for him to hear: “So much for not being the kind of guy who goes around dating random people…”

A few seconds they both are silent. You could see the tension in the room if you concentrated enough. Then, Yousef says something that would be maybe too good to be true.

“Wait…are you jealous?”

Sana’s head snaps up to him and without missing a beat she answers.

“Are you stupid?”

Yousef raises his hand and opens his mouth to say something, again no words come out. All he can do is repeat his question.

“Well…are you jealous?”

“Well…are you stupid?”, Sana imitates his tone, indicating that there could be truth behind the question.

“Okay, fine, you’re not jealous. You’re just pissed at me.”

“Of course I’m pissed at you! How could you do this? How could you be so irresponsible to let you be seen on a date with another girl when you’re supposed to be my boyfriend?” Sana forgets to be calm. How can she be in this situation?

“I’ve told you, it wasn’t a date. She’s just a friend.”, Yousef says with a short shrug which makes Sana’s blood boil. How can he be like this right now?

“That’s not the point, Yousef!” Sana shouts shaking her head.

Yousef steps back, taken aback by the anger on her voice. At least he’s not ‘Acar’ anymore. He’s Yousef again.

“The point is that you should know better by now. You know how the press is. You know that they always find a way to twist everything. You should’ve been more careful, friend or not. This could ruin us.” Sana sounds a bit more calm. She’s getting exhausted by just thinking of the reactions to this. By just thinking about the hundred different ways this could be twisted.

“But it’s not even true!”, Yousef exclaims, honestly frustrated. Almost as much as Sana.

No, not as much as Sana. She looks up at him with a mixture of frustration and sadness apparent on her face and shaking her head she almost speaks in a whisper which still has so much power behind it.

“The press doesn’t care about the truth. Just look at us!”

Feeling like she’s about to cry she just closes her eyes and sits on Yousef’s couch. She covers her face with her hands trying to keep the tears from falling. She’s not really sure why she’s acting like this. She feels frustrated, overwhelmed, worried and even a little betrayed. But maybe…maybe there’s more to it than she wants to admit.

Yousef’s stomach sinks when he realizes that he’s really messed up this time. The last thing he wants is to upset Sana, and he clearly has. He walks towards her and crouches to the floor so he’s at the same height as hers.

“Sana, I’m sorry.” He whispers resting his hand on her knee to catch her attention. “I’m sorry.”

Taking a deep breath she put her hands away from her face and looks at him. Yousef smiles shyly and turns the hand on Sana’s knee around so his palm is facing up. She looks at his hand for a moment and sighs, placing her hand on his, Yousef’s fingers quickly circling her hand.

“I would never do anything that could risk this, us. I’m sorry.”, Yousef says quietly, making Sana look away from their intertwined hands because of his soft voice.

“Everyone thinks you’re cheating on me…What are we going to do?”, looking into his eyes, Sana asks the question that has been bothering her most. Well, it’s one of the things.

“We’ll solve this. We’ll get through this.” He reassures her squeezing her hand a little. “Together.”

  
-x-

 

Sana feels like she’s going to meet the principal at school because she did something bad. Like she will be expelled or punished in some way. It’s weird because Sana never had to go to the principal because of something she did wrong and there is no way that she could be expelled from anything right now.

All that could happen, with a big possibility, is that she will be shouted at by her agent and some of the people that work for the movie that just got released. Sana knows that they are pissed. So does Yousef.

At least they came here, to the office, together. On one front. Not like the other day where Yousef felt like Sana could rip his head off. They’ve talked and calmed down. They tried to stay clear of any magazines or tv programmes that could be reporting about this to not get back to freaking out.

Now, they are standing in front of the door and brace themselves to knock. On the other side of the door they will be faced with people who will not be happy about this whole situation.  
Not that Yousef fully understands what the big deal is. The news were not real. They interpreted everything the way they wanted to.

“Yousef, Sana take a seat. We need to talk.”

Yousef and Sana are used to be received by this people, their agents, the writers and the PR people, in a cheerful way. Probably because they usually want something from Yousef and Sana.

This time, it’s the complete opposite. They’re received with a slightly hostile tone.

“I assume you both know why we’ve called you here.” Robert, always Robert, says.

Both Yousef and Sana nod, their eyes glued to the desk in front of them.

“What were you thinking? I told you going there was not a good idea!”, Agnes’s angry words are for both of them but they’re actually mainly directed to Sana, since she’s her agent.

Yousef, knowing that the woman is referring to his co-star, snaps his head up and looks at Agnes.

“Wait. Don’t blame Sana. This is all on me. I’m the one that screwed up.”

“Hey, no. That’s not true. It’s not your fault at all. And we’re a team, we’re in this together no matter what.” Just like he had done the previous day, now Sana puts her hand on Yousef’s knee in supportive way.

“We’re not here to reprimand you. Yes, you should’ve been more careful. You should’ve known what the press is capable of. But what’s done is done.” Robert, knowing that it wouldn’t be wise to get in a fight with Sana and Yousef, especially now that apparently they’re so close, says.

“Now we have to find a way to solve this.” Bendikt looks at Yousef with a gentle smile. He knows this is all new to him and he doesn’t want him to feel bad.

“I’ll do whatever it takes. I’m really sorry.”, Yousef instantly says, looking only at his agent and then Sana. The people here, that really matter to him.

“We’ll do whatever it takes.” Sana remarks.

“We’ve been thinking about this and since the press is what got us into this mess it’s only fair that they’re the one that get us out of it.”

Yousef and Sana frown at the same time. Neither of them have a clue of what Robert is talking about. They look at each other to see if the other one knows what’s going on but they soon realize that they’re both equally lost.

“You have to make a public appearance, together. You have to pose in front of the press, act like you’re madly in love.”, Agnes says, now a lot calmer than before, looking between Sana and Yousef.

“But do not make any declarations about the cheating thing, they will only twist your words. Whatever they ask you, you both just answer with a ‘we’re really happy together’. A smile, a look and that’s it. Nothing else that can get you compromised. Understood?” Robert doesn’t sound nearly as caring as Agnes.  

“Yes.” Sana says while Yousef nods.

“Then Saturday it is. You’ll both go together to Mike’s tv show’s premiere. You’ll be there to support your cast mate and to prove that you’re as in love as always.”

  
-x-

 

Supporting their cast mate with his new Tv show. That is the ‘official’ thing Sana and Yousef are at this premiere for now. Well, nobody is interested in the fact that the couple seem like good friends that support a friend and colleague with their new project. Since Sana and Yousef have stepped onto the red carpet to have their pictures taken, to appear in public together and to show the world that they are still happily together, they’ve been shouted to with the same question.

“Are the rumours true? Did you work through them?”

“We were surprised to see you here, together. Did you forgive him, Sana?”

“Yousef, is what everyone’s thinking true? We don’t want to believe that you would do something like that.”

And the most frustrating part about all of this? Neither Sana nor Yousef were allowed to say that none of that is true. They are not allowed to say those are indeed just rumours and nothing of that sorts happened. They are not allowed to say that there was no cheating to forgive.

All they are allowed to do is say “We’re really happy together” and smile. They are only allowed to pose and be close to each other. Try and make people believe that they are indeed ‘happy together’.

So when they are standing in front of the many cameras, for a moment away from all the questions, they look at each other and smile. Sana notices that Yousef already looks exhausted and the evening has just started. But she can’t judge. She probably looks exactly like him.

When one of the photographers shouts their names loudly, Sana and Yousef look at him at the same time and step a little closer to each other. Yousef puts his arm around Sana’s waist and looks at her with a smile, silently asking if that is okay. Almost unnoticeably Sana nods and then they both turn towards the camera with happy smiles on their faces.

The next photographer they stop for is not that easy to deal with. He does not only take picture but he also shouts out questions. Questions that make even Sana incredibly nervous.

In between shots he can be heard asking: “Are you two really okay? The pictures I’ve taken so far tell a different story.”

Trying not to show how unsure Sana gets, she turns to Yousef who is already looking at her smilingly. She looks him in the eyes and then does something that she did not think about at all before this moment. Maybe it’s the photographer’s comments, maybe it’s just the general pressure on them and all the eyes around them judging their every move.

Sana stands on her tiptoes and leans closer to Yousef and kisses him on the cheek.

She can feel him tense but only for the shortest moment. He relaxes and wraps an arm around her and smiles into the camera.

  
-x-

“Tell me what you boast about and I’ll tell you what you lack. That’s what people are thinking about our not-so-beloved-anymore Yousana.

I’m Ashley Johnson and this is Hollywood today.

I’m sure that all of you know about Yousef Acar’s little slip last week while he was back in Norway. If by any chance you’re living under a rock and don’t know what we’re talking about, we’ll tell you.

Hollywood lovebirds Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar made a trip to their hometown to work on a local project. Everyone thought this would be the perfect occasion for a romantic trip. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.

Heart Magazine surprised everyone when they released pictures of Yousef being all cozy with a mysterious girl. Everything indicated that he was cheating on his girlfriend and co-star Sana Bakkoush.

Rumours have been spreading all week and no one had made any declarations about that. Until yesterday, when the maybe-not-anymore couple showed up at their cast mate’s premiere for his new show.

When asked about the rumours of Yousef’s affair, both of them answered with a ‘we’re very happy together’.

It’s only fair to say that both of them were very lovely with the press and with each other. Maybe too much? They stood in front of the photographers with their perfect smiles, posing like professionals and acting as if they were in their honeymoon. Sana even took the plunge and kissed Yousef’s cheek in front of everyone, something she had never done before.

That’s what leads us to think that maybe they’re not as happy as they want us to think. It looks like they’re putting so much effort in acting like they’re in love that maybe there’s more to it.

If you want my honest opinion, it seems to me like the rumours are true. Yousef Acar has cheated on Sana Bakkoush and she’s trying to play it cool.

The question now is, how long will their act last before she explodes?

We can assure you one thing, we’ll be the first ones to inform you about it.”

  
-x-

 

There have been many times in her life that Sana thought she’d be better off without siblings because they used to fight a lot. Like everyone fights with their siblings about small petty stuff.

In this very moment, Sana couldn’t be happier that she was born into a family that already had two children. One of them being Elias and her only hope at getting this done without sinking deeper into this whole mess.

He had texted her that their parents saw the rumours about Yousef cheating and wanted to talk to their daughter themselves. That text saved Sana. She instantly called Elias.

The phone is ringing now and Sana walks up and down in her living room. Pick up, Elias, pick up. You just had your phone in your hand.

“Sis?”, Sana finally hears and sighs.

“Elias? Hi. Thanks for the heads up! But I think I really need your help with this!”, Sana answers quickly.

She hears Elias give a short humming sound from him and anxiously waits for an answer.

“Sana, be honest with me. Is there even a possibility that Yousef did actually cheat on you?”

Sana furrows her eyebrows at that and is confused why her older brother would ask this.

“Elias, you know that Yousef is not really my boyfriend.”, she just says.

Elias doesn’t respond to that. He just repeats his question.

“Sana, just tell me. Is there any possibility that Yousef cheated on you?”

Any other time Sana would laugh about this, or smile because of this, or even give back a sarcastic remark but right now she can’t. So she just shakes her head, fully knowing that her brother can’t see her.

“No. He really didn’t.” Why does it feel good to say this? It’s not like anything that Yousef did with that girl would be considered cheating because they are not really dating.

Elias sounds less stoic now. He suggests something about how to handle things with their parents.

“Okay, I’ll make mom and dad call per video chat and I’ll be right there. Before the call I’ll tell them good stuff about Yousef because they know we spent some time together on the set of the music video.”

“Thank you, Elias.”, Sana says, tearing up. She is so lucky to have a brother like Elias who is nothing but supportive. Even with ridiculous acts like this one.

  
-x-

 

 **Yousef Acar:**  How did it go?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Well, I think

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  They were really worried. My mother kept asking me if I was okay. My father was ready to have a conversation with you.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I told them that the rumours aren’t true. That you would never cheat on me.

 **Yousef Acar:**  And I would never ever cheat on you, Sana.

 **Yousef Acar:**  I mean, if we were dating

 **Yousef Acar:**  Which we aren’t

 **Yousef Acar:**  But you know what I mean

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Yes, I do. Relax

 **Yousef Acar:**  So, they believed you?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Yeah, I think so.

 **Sana Bakkoush:** Elias helped. He told them that if you had cheated on me he would be already on his way here to kick you ass.

 **Sana Bakkoush** : So you know, don’t ever cheat on me

 **Sana Bakkoush** : I mean, fake cheat on me

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  You know what I mean

 **Yousef Acar:**  Yeah I do. And good to know! I wouldn’t like to get my ass kicked by your brother

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I think that my parents were really relieved that you didn’t cheat.

 **Sana Bakkoush:** They really like you. I think they were a little disappointed on you at first. Before I convinced them that it wasn’t true.

 **Yousef Acar:**  I really like them too. I like the whole Bakkoush family.

 **Sana Bakkoush:** You haven’t met my eldest brother yet. How would you know?

 **Yousef Acar:**  I haven’t met him, yet. That’ll happen sometime.

 **Sana Bakkoush:** Your family is pretty cool too.

 **Yousef Acar:**  Then, they’re fully convinced?

 **Yousef Acar:** I could call them myself if you want

 **Yousef Acar** : I think maybe I should?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Aww that’s really sweet

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  But I don’t think that’ll be necessary. They are convinced

Yousef Acar: Okay then.

 **Yousef Acar:**  Still, next time I see them I’ll make sure to let them know how much I love their daughter

 **Yousef Acar:**  Fake love her

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I understood you ;)

 **Yousef Acar:**  I talked to my parents too by the way

 **Yousef Acar:**  They were pretty angry at me.

 **Yousef Acar:**  My mother was screaming and my father was really disappointed

 **Yousef Acar:**  I had to convince them that I would never cheat on you. They were all like ‘Hollywood has changed you’

 **Yousef Acar:**  I think that it was mostly because they loved you so much and were more sad for you than anything

 **Yousef Acar:**  But I think they’re convinced now.

 **Yousef Acar:**  In fact, after I told them that it was all false they were like ‘of course it is. We know you would never cheat on anyone. And we’ve seen the way you look at her. You couldn’t have cheated on her’

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  The way you look at me?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  How is that?

 **Yousef Acar:**  Uh…I mean that’s what they said

 **Yousef Acar:**  I don’t know what they meant

 **Yousef Acar:**  Guess I’m a good actor? That must be it, a good actor. That’s it.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Okay, I get it

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Do you want me to maybe call them? Tell them that I trust you 100%

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I can let them know that I love their son very much and that I know he would never cheat on me

 **Yousef Acar:**  Fake love?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Of course

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Good actors and all

 **Yousef Acar:**  It won’t be necessary

 **Yousef Acar:**  But I wouldn’t mind hearing a few compliments about myself next time we see them

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  You be a good boyfriend and we’ll see about that ;)

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Yes, fake boyfriend

 **Yousef Acar:**  I will be the best boyfriend ever. Anything for you girl.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  hahah you’re an idiot

 **Yousef Acar:**  Yeah

 **Yousef Acar:**  But I made you laugh. Mission accomplished.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  :D 


	11. Chapter 11

In these past weeks Sana has flown out to Norway twice. That’s more than she usually goes back home in months. She’d be too wrapped up in work to be able to fly home so her family or at least her brother would go visit her. Of course she is happy to go home again, just a few days after she got back to LA but she knows it’s not for vacation. It’s to keep up the charade of being a couple without any drama. When even your agents tell you that you need to go back home and spend time there, you know it’s a severe situation. Especially for Sana and Yousef now.

After a long conversation with their agents and the rest of the people involved with their fake relationship, they came to one conclusion: they had two main problems.

The first one, of course, was the fact that everybody thought that Yousef had cheated on Sana and that they’re pretending to be happy when they’re actually not.

The second one, probably the one that worried the agents the most, was the fact that there is a mysterious, anonymous girl who’s being approached by the press to confirm Yousef’s affair with her. Even if Yousef repeated over and over again that there was no way that his friend would take advantage of the situation and lie to make money, the agents didn’t care. ‘You don’t know this industry like we do, Yousef. People are willing to do whatever it takes for their moment of glory’.

So now there they are. In Norway. In Oslo. Their hometown. A ‘romantic’ trip to convince everyone that they’re as in love as ever and also to have a little conversation with the girl the agents were so worried about.

Sana is used to meeting new people. People that should make her nervous because they can decide whether or not she is going to be cast in a movie or how she will be portrayed in an article. She is not used to being so nervous about meeting new people that are supposed to be friends of her boyfriend, her fake boyfriend.

Well, here she is. Standing outside of a coffee shop, with Yousef right by her side and waiting for that mysterious girl from the picture, Astrid.

“There, she’s coming.”, Yousef says, nodding into the direction of which Astrid is walking towards them.

She’s on the other side of the road and Sana feels like she is going to need support walking. No wonder the press was so excited about Yousef’s alleged affair. The girl walking towards them is beautiful. Shiny blonde hair, big blue eyes, so pretty that she could stand next to Yousef on a big magazine cover.

Sana looks up at Yousef who is smiling at the approaching girl and presses her lips together. He seems really happy to see her.

“Hi.”, the girl says once she’s standing right in front of the couple. She’s smiling at them with a perfect smile.

“Hey, Astrid. Thanks for meeting with us. How are you?”, Yousef starts the conversation quickly.

From the corner of her eye Sana can see that Yousef was about to go a step closer and hug her. She is his friend since high school, after all. That’s what Yousef has told Sana. But he refrains and instead puts an arm around Sana.

“Yeah, no problem. I think we need to talk anyway.”, she says laughingly, not looking like she blames either Yousef nor Sana for the huge outburst of articles with her, although blurry, pictures included.

Then she turns to Sana with a polite smile playing on her lips and extends her hand: “I’m Astrid.”, then she glances at Yousef for a second and can’t help herself when she turns to Sana again. “I’m sorry but Yousef has talked so much about you and I’m a huge fan of your movies so I’m sorry if I seem a little overexcited.”

The sinking feeling in Sana’s stomach starts to disappear slowly. Astrid actually really seems nice. She doesn’t look like she’s faking it. Sana knows what that looks like. So she ends up just smiling at Astrid until Yousef asks if they should go inside.

 

-x-

 

 

“Here you have, latte with no cream for you.” Yousef places Astrid’s coffee in front of her and then turns to Sana, “And a vanilla latte for my girl.”

Sana smiles shyly at Yousef as he takes the seat right next to her. As always he’s having a black coffee. This reminds her of their first dates, breaks, when they would spend a lot of time at the coffee shop near the studio.

“Astrid, I think that the first thing we should say is that we’re really sorry we got you into this mess.” Sana is the one that breaks the ice. Ever since those pictures came out she’s been feeling really bad about it. Sana chose this life, so did Yousef. They both knew they would have to deal with the press. Astrid, on the other hand, she didn’t ask for any of this.

“Oh, Sana, please don’t apologize. None of this is your fault. None of this is anyone’s fault except the press that’s trying to make money out of a lie.” Astrid quickly assures her. Sure, this past week has been kind of a mess. She’s found herself avoiding calls from the press that were practically begging her to betray Yousef. But she knows all of this is just temporary. Soon, they will find another story and she will be able to go back to her life. “And also…I’m sure Yousef has already told you this but you should know that there is nothing going on between us. I swear, we’re just friends.”

“I know.” Sana says looking at Yousef and placing her hand on top of his. “I trust him.”

Yousef smiles fondly at Sana and squeezes her hand. He knows that she’s only acting because they’re in a public place and Astrid has to think that they’re dating but still, it feels good to hear her saying that. And well, holding Sana’s hand is also not the worst thing in the world.

“Look, I know that what I’m about to say it’s not even necessary but…you can’t talk to the press.” Yousef instantly feels guilty about this. He doesn’t want Astrid to think that he doesn’t trust her, he does. But Bendikt, Agnes and Robert said it very clearly, they had to warn Astrid.

“I know, I know. And you have nothing to worry about. Believe me, I don’t have any intention of talking to the press. I like my anonymous life. I only want people’s attention when I’m dancing, that’s all.”

“You dance?” Well, Sana is not actually surprised. She really has the body of a dancer.

“Yes, I do. I mean not for a living. Just as a hobby. So again, you can trust me, I would never betray my dance partner.” Astrid smiles at a very confused Sana and a very embarrassed Yousef. He knows what’s coming.

“Dance partner?” Sana turns to Yousef with her eyebrows raised. This is brand new information.

“Wait, you haven’t told your girlfriend that you used to be a dancer before modeling?” Astrid asks shaking her head.

“So that’s why you were so good in the video. That’s why you didn’t struggle even a little bit with the choreography.” Now everything is making sense to Sana. Of course he’s a dancer. That easiness he showed while filming the Balloon Boy’s videoclip wasn’t normal. She can’t help but smile at the memory of those days. Even if she would never admit it, she had a lot of fun filming that video, especially dancing with Yousef. She doesn’t really know how to define what she felt while dancing with him, but it was definitely something very, very, nice.

“Well, yeah…” Yousef is blushing now. He’s always been very confident about his dancing skills, he has never tried to hide it. But for some reason every time Sana finds something new about his life he can’t shake this nervous feeling. Like he’s holding his breath until he sees Sana’s reaction about the new information, hoping that she doesn’t think it’s embarrassing.

Sana shows Yousef a big smile that calms him down instantly. Since they’re still holding hands, now is Sana the one that squeezes Yousef’s hand.

Astrid looks at the couple with a smirk. She’s known Yousef for years and she has never seen him looking at anyone the way he looks at Sana. She is so happy that he has found her.

“So you two have danced together, I’m assuming?” Astrid asks. They were talking about some choreography so probably it was for some Hollywood project. She didn’t know Sana Bakkoush danced.

“Well, he did, I only tried to follow his lead.” Sana laughs. If there’s something she knows is that she’s definitely not a good dancer.

“Oh don’t listen to her. She’s great.” Yousef says rolling his eyes a little bit. He then lets go of Sana’s hand to put his arm around her. “I’m sorry Astrid but I’ve found a new partner for dancing and for everything.”

 

-x-

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-x-

Since Sana lives in LA most of the times she doesn’t get to see all of her family in one place very often. She feels like she’s missing out on a lot.

That’s why, when he found out that she’s coming back again, Elias called all his family living in or near Oslo to come see her.

He knows how stressed she is with her ‘fake’ dating life and the press and everything else.

Seeing the happy look on Sana’s face makes everyone else smile. It’s not possible to see her smile her million dollar smile and not join her.

“Yousef! You can’t even catch me!”, Sana’s five year-old cousin Jamil giggles while running away from Yousef.

As soon as Yousef had arrived he was being greeted by many people, all of which are Sana’s relatives. He knew that he’d meet some of Sana’s family and put a lot of thought into what to wear and what to bring to the BBQ to make the best possible impression. Yousef doesn’t want any of Sana’s family members to dislike him. She’s too important to him for that.

Well, he did not anticipate that the backyard of the Bakkoush house would be filled to this degree.

Children running around, the adults either playing with them or watching over them or preparing food or just chatting.

Yousef had barely sat down when little Jamil and his one year older sister came running up to him to ask if he was Elias’ friend.

“Yes, I am. But also Sana’s…”, Yousef said and didn’t even have the chance to finish the sentence because Jamil poked him in the stomach and shouted you’re it.

Yousef saw the little boy looking at him with so much anticipation that that he couldn’t deny playing tag with him and his sister.

Now, after about ten minutes, his mother catches Jamil and tells him to go wash up.

Then she turns to Yousef and introduces herself as Sana’s aunt.

“It’s really nice to meet you. I’m Yousef.”

Sana’s aunt smirks lightly and nods: “Yes, we know about you. Partly due to the press.”

Yousef’s eyes immediately widen. So much for making a good first impression. He shakes his head and opens his mouth to tell her how it really was but she interrupts him with a laugh.

He furrows his eyebrows in confusion but it’s cleared up quickly.

“Don’t worry. Sana and Elias have told us about the truth. You wouldn’t be here right now if they didn’t.”

Her words leave Yousef stunned but she just turns around and leaves him standing there alone. That was an interesting, short but very interesting conversation.

Yousef shakes his head to clear his thoughts and looks around the garden.

Sana finally reenters the backyard with a lot in her hands, too much for one person to carry. Yousef smiles to himself. Sana, always the overachiever. But he wouldn’t have her any other way. She’s just great how she already is.

He snaps out of it and goes to help her out but Elias beats him to it. Sana’s brother takes a few of the plates from Sana’s hands and proceeds to walk backwards in front of Sana, leading the way to the table.

From where he’s standing Yousef can see Sana roll her eyes at her brother while having a smile play on her lips. Yousef is so happy that Sana has a brother like that. From what he has seen and what he has heard from Sana, Elias is always there for her and that’s something Yousef really appreciates.

Leaning on the wall behind him, Yousef watches the siblings with another of their cousins whose name Yousef remembers because Sana had shown him a picture of her when they were back in LA, after a long day of filming when they ended up watching a movie together. The little girl’s name is Adilha.

When Elias leans down to pick up a fork he had dropped Adilha jumps on his back and holds tight onto his neck. Smiling he stands up, securing her. Sana watches them with a big smile, showing her dimples.

Yousef can’t hear what either of them is saying but Sana responds to something that Adilha said by looking at her in an over dramatically shocked way and taking a big step towards them.

Adilha shrieks and Elias takes a step back to keep the distance, whatever they might be joking about. Yousef loves seeing Sana like this. So carefree, not caring how she moves, what she says, who could see her. She’s almost like a completely other person and at the same time she’s the exact same. How is that possible? Yousef is really amazed by her

In LA with all the people around her, famous or not, Sana never changes who she is. She’s unapologetically herself. That’s something Yousef really admires about his girlfriend. Well, fake girlfriend.

The more he gets to know her, the more he realizes how awful it must be for her to lie so much because of this stupid agreement they made. Sana doesn’t lie. Not about anything but this. She probably had thought that this act would be a lot easier, so did Yousef, but she’s handling it a lot better than he is.

While Sana could let the fame get to her head, she did not. She’s so down to earth and cool and pretty and smart and fit and amazingly sarcastic sometimes… Yousef cannot think of one thing that bothers him about her.

“Yousef, welcome.”, he hears someone say from right next to him and gets surprised a bit.

This whole time he was looking at Sana and how she is around her family and couldn’t keep his smile off his face.

Turning to his right side, Yousef is faced with Sana’s father.

“Mr. Bakkoush, thanks for having me. It’s really lovely here!”

Sana’s father only smiles a little at Yousef and puts a hand on his shoulder.

Yousef gets nervous and instinctively his eyes search for Sana. She’s still standing close to the table, now running after and catching Adhila and tickling her. Both girls start laughing loudly which makes Yousef smile.

He turns his eyes back to Sana’s father who now looks more serious than a few seconds ago.

“Yousef, we know now that the rumours were only that. Rumours. Not true, right?”, he gets asked and instantly nods furiously.

“I would never cheat on anyone. Especially not on Sana.”, Yousef says, speaking very quickly.

Sana’s father nods shortly but his serious look on his face doesn’t soften.

“So, now that that is cleared … How serious are your feelings for my daughter? What are your intentions with my daughter?”

Shouldn’t this question make Yousef panic? Shouldn’t this question make him forget how to talk for a moment? Shouldn’t this question make him unsure of what to answer?

Then why does he feel like he doesn’t even need to think about it?

His gaze finds Sana again. On the other end of the garden. Right in that moment she looks up from watching her brother play rock, paper, scissors with Adilha. She smiles right at Yousef, showing her dimples, and makes Yousef forget how to breathe for a moment. Her light purple hijab just compliments her beauty perfectly and seeing her like that with her family Yousef only has one thought in his mind.

He wouldn’t mind seeing this every day. He would love to see Sana as happy as she is now everyday. He would love to be lucky enough to have Sana in his life permanently.

“I love her…”, Yousef answers without looking away from Sana, without noticing what he’s saying.

Sana raises her eyebrows at him and never letting her smile falter. When Yousef doesn’t react she scrunches up her nose and sticks her tongue out to him before turning back to her cousin.

Yousef smiles to himself and adds, almost in a whisper tone.

“I’m in love with her.”

-x-

 

 **Yousef Acar:**  It’s official, I like the whole Bakkoush family.

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Oh right. You finally met my eldest brother! :)

 **Yousef Acar** : And a lot more of your relatives :D

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  They actually really liked you

 **Yousef Acar:**  Why do you sound so surprised? I’m a likable person!

 **Yousef Acar:**  But I liked them too

 **Sana Bakkoush** : ehh, depends on who you’re asking.

 **Sana Bakkoush** : you said that already haha

 **Yousef Acar** : What if I’m asking you?

 **Sana Bakkoush** : Hmm… You’re alright, I guess.

 **Yousef Acar** : Okay, I understand. Go on, break my heart a little more

 **Yousef Acar** : And here I was wondering if you wanted to go on a date tomorrow

 **Sana Bakkoush** : a date?

 **Yousef Acar** : Yes

 **Yousef Acar** : I mean, could be called that

 **Yousef Acar** : So that we’re seen in public together

 **Yousef Acar:**  for the press

 **Sana Bakkoush** : okay

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  what time?

 **Yousef Acar** : I’ll pick you up around noon?

 **Sana Bakkoush** : Sounds good to me!

 **Sana Bakkoush** : Thank you for coming today :)

 **Sana Bakkoush** : Good night!

 **Yousef Acar:**  Good night ❤


	12. Chapter 12

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-x-

The rain did not stop.

The whole drive home, to Sana’s, it was pouring down heavily and it doesn’t change once they are parked across the street from her house. After their date Yousef drove Sana home and even the car drive to her house was fun, just talking about random things.

They don’t talk about it, they just silently agree on Sana waiting to leave Yousef’s car until it stops raining so much.

Sana and Yousef sit in comfortable silence. Sana’s head leaning on the window, Yousef’s leaning back in his seat.

With other people this silence would be unbearable. It’s not with each other. Especially not after the amazing day the two actors have spent together. They’re just listening to the sound of the rain and letting the day go through their minds again. It was a great day. They both had a lot more fun than they thought they would. It was very easy to forget their troubles. It was almost too easy to forget that that date was just for the press and the public to see them happily together.

This fact was quickly forgotten by Sana.

This fact was quickly forgotten by Yousef.

Yousef starts remembering small moments of this day, small moments that made his feeling towards Sana become even more secure.

They have spent the entire day together and not once did he think ‘I need a break, I need to be alone for a moment’.

They have spent the entire day together and not once did Sana think she’d rather be spending time with someone else or on her own. She loved being around Yousef for so long.

They have spent the entire day together and not once did they bore each other.

When Yousef starts smiling so much that it would be embarrassing if Sana saw it, he turns to Sana.

“Do you want to listen to some music?”

Sana turns her eyes towards Yousef and smiles.

“Yeah, sure.”, she answers, picking up Yousef’s phone from its place in the phone-holder.  
Holding it out to him, she asks: “So, what kind of music does Yousef Acar listen to?”

Yousef’s eyes instantly go to the smirk playing on Sana’s lips. He shakes his head to clear his thoughts and takes the phone out of Sana’s hand. Their fingers lightly touch, very shortly, but it makes both of them smile shyly and look down on their hand for a moment.

Unlocking his phone and going straight to his music library Yousef answers: “I honestly think I only have my dance-playlist on here.”

Now, Sana completely turns to him, leans her back on the door and smiles at him.

“Okay,  press play then.”

Sana feels like a child that gets the chance to open presents on their birthday. Seeing what kind of music Yousef dances to will be interesting, she is sure of it. And if she knows him at least a little bit after all these weeks and months of spending time with him, she knows that there will be some very … interesting songs in this playlist.

Yousef connects his phone to the stereo of the car and presses shuffle.  
He knows that many of these songs are probably not what Sana imagines them like. Yousef has been dancing since middle school. No, actually he danced before that but the first time he was part of a dance crew was in middle school. They challenged themselves to create choreographies to random songs and make them fun. Honestly, they succeeded. Dancing with his friends is one of Yousef’s most cherished parts of his childhood.  

As soon as the music starts playing Sana laughs out and looks at Yousef with raised eyebrows.

“You dance to this?”, she tries to not burst out laughing at her mental imagine of Yousef dancing to this song with some kind of choreography.

Instead of being embarrassed Yousef nods, smirking. “Hey, don’t underestimate my dancing skills.”

“I would never.”, Sana says overdramatically and smiles.

At the same time they keep listening and neither of them can deny that this is a song they both know and might like too much.

At the same time they lift their right hand to their foreheads.

With her finger and her thumb  
In shape of an “L” on her forehead  

They both burst out laughing when they see the other person in the car do the exact same thing as themselves. And both of them know to try and collect themselves to sing along to the next part loudly.

_Hey now_  
You’re an all star     - Sana and Yousef point at each other shouting out the lyrics.  
_Get your game on_  
Go play

_Hey now_  
You’re a Rockstar  -  Yousef acts like he’s playing a rock song on a guitar.  
_Get the show on_  
Get paid                 - Sana laughs and acts like she’s putting money in her pocket.

This would have been embarrassing if they didn’t feel so comfortable with each other. They sing and act out different parts of the song together and partly alone.

When the song ends they both throw back their head and laugh. It was so much fun for both of them and all they did was sing along to a song everyone knows.

“Now I’m excited what the next one is.”, Sana says, her cheeks a little flushed.

Yousef just waits, looking at her. Even after such a long day, packed with activities, she looks amazing.

The next song Sana doesn’t recognize. At least not at first. She looks at Yousef with a confused look but he doesn’t tell her anything. He remembers the choreography to this song and well, it was a very high energy and dramatic one.

Only at the chorus Sana recognizes it and she can’t stop laughing at Yousef mouthing the words and dancing, if it can be called that, to it.

_I live for the applause, applause, applause_  
I live for the applause-plause, live for the applause-plause  
Live for the way that you cheer and scream for me  
The applause, applause, applause  

Yousef keeps clapping and moving his hands in a circle, getting closer to Sana’s face and leaning back again. He’s mouthing the words really enthusiastically and makes Sana laugh even more. He even makes her join the clapping the next time.

“Oh my God, you’re such a dork!”, Sana exclaims, holding her sides because she has been laughing so much.  "I really need to see the choreography to this!“

Yousef also doubles over in laughter and furiously shakes his head. In between laughs he tries to say: "You really don’t!”   
This playlist has been updated over the years and even when he gets a new phone Yousef updates the playlist with all the songs he has had a choreography for. No matter how bad or ridiculous they were.

Then the next song comes on and slowly a smile creeps up on Sana’s face. Yousef looks at her with raised eyebrows. He thought she would make fun of him for dancing to this song but no, she seems honestly excited. She looks at Yousef and grins, shaking her head lightly as if to say I can’t believe I’m going to do that.

When *NSYNC starts dancing in the music video, that’s when Sana and Yousef start dancing at the same time. Or at least attempting in this small room in the car.

_Bye Bye_  
Don’t wanna be a fool for you  
Just another player in your game for two

Both of them are attempting to recreate the exact moves from the video. Enthusiastically Sana and Yousef try to do those side steps, in the same overdone fashion as the band does in the video. All that time Yousef mouths and Sana sings along to the lyrics.

_Bye Bye_  
Don’t really wanna make it tough,  
just wanna tell you that I had enough.

This part probably was very hurtful to the car in some way because again both of the people sitting in the car try to do the same move as in the video. First Sana, then Yousef, actually jumps a little on their seat and does the stomping.

Sana even does the kick and almost hits Yousef in the face. She’s sitting in a way that she’s directly facing him. Yousef reacts quickly and leans back. He catches Sana’s foot mid-air and holds it there for a moment. Laughingly he slowly lets go of her foot and just laughs about this and Sana joins him.

In the next part Sana and Yousef stare at each other the way Justin Timberlake stares into the camera for his solo and put their all into the next few lines, acting as serious as they can about what they’re singing along to.

_Just hit me with the truth,_  
Now, girl you’re more than welcome to.  
So give me one good reason,  
Baby come on  

Once the song finishes, somehow Sana sits a lot closer to Yousef. They’re both at the far end of their seat, as close as they can be to the other one.   
Sana is feeling very warm and not just because of the dancing and intense singing along.

Sana shakes her head laughingly. “I hate us. I can’t believe we both know the whole choreography to that.”

Her eyes shine with happiness and Yousef loves that.   
Yousef smiles brightly at Sana and she loves his smile.

He tilts his head slightly and with a smirk comments: “Looks like I’m not the only dork in this relationship.”

At first neither of the two actors notices what’s not right with that sentence. They keep smiling at each other, not talking and waiting for the last seconds of this song to be over and the next one to be played. Then, there is one moment in which they both realize what Yousef really said.

However, their smiles don’t falter. They keep smiling at each other, looking each other into the eyes. Now it’s just a bit more shy.   
Sana presses her lips together for a second, looks at her hands and then again into Yousef’s eyes again.  
Yousef bites the inside of his cheek to not smile too much, to not get lost in Sana’s eyes too much but ends up looking into her eyes again.

The next song that comes on is recognized immediately. They worked a lot with this song, trying to perfect the choreography.

_home now, end of the night_  
and it’s colder to turn on your side  
and I know you are up in two hours  

Not looking away from each other they listen to the first verses. Sana’s eyes wander all over Yousef’s face and she smiles lightly.

“This is our song.”, Yousef is the one to say. He doesn’t mean to. It just slips out but it’s the truth. In a quieter tone, almost in a whisper, Yousef explains: “Because we worked with it for so long.”, but neither of them cares. They might not be ready to say it but they know why it is their song.

Sana remembers the close proximity. She remembers him correcting her posture if needed but never in a degrading way. She remembers him lifting her with such an ease that left her speechless. She remembers Yousef moving effortlessly and gracefully. She remembers how she trusted him to not let her fall.

_how are we gonna breathe? and how are we gonna be together?  
just keeping the peace  _

Maybe Sana is just imagining it but she feels like she can see Yousef remembering all those moments too. Especially this moment, at this part of the song.

“Do you trust me?”, he had asked Sana. She had answered with yes. She would answer the same way now.

When the song ends, Sana gulps and takes a deep breath. Yousef does the same. They were in a trance, just seeing each other, just listening to the song they danced to for hours and hours.

All of the sudden Sana feels like she needs air. Fresh air. The soft look on Yousef’s face, the small smile playing on his lips, the memories of dancing with him. All of these things make Sana struggle to breathe. She feels like she’s been running a marathon, her heart is beating so fast. When she feels like this, why is it so hard to just look away?   
She looks out of the window to see that it’s still raining. Should she break their silent agreement? If she doesn’t her heart might jump out of her chest so Sana turns back to face Yousef. He needs to stop looking at her like that if Sana is not supposed to have a heart attack each time.

“I think I should get going”, Sana says looking away from Yousef. “It’s getting late.”

“But it’s still raining.” Yousef looks at the window and in fact, it hasn’t stopped raining.

He’s not going to lie, the rain is not the only reason he doesn’t want her to leave. He just doesn’t want this date to be over. This has been the closest to a real date they’ve been. For a moment there he forgot that for Sana it’s just another fake date. For Yousef, it has been way more than that. It has been the final proof that he definitely doesn’t see Sana as just his fake girlfriend. He wants to have more nights like this. He wants to hold her hand. He wants to take her out for dinner. He wants to take pictures of her and post them so everyone can see it. But he doesn’t want to do that for the show. He wants to do them because…well, because he’s in love with her. There’s no point in denying it now.

“It’s fine, it’s only a few steps before I reach the door and then I’ll be under roof.” Sana reaches for the door handle, ready to go out but stops when she feels Yousef’s hand on her arm.

“Wait, I’m coming with you.”

“You don’t have to do that. You can just go, don’t have to walk in the rain.” Sana tells him. There’s no need for the both of them to get soaked.

“I’m coming with you.” Yousef says as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. He lets go of her arm and in a quick move he’s out of the car.

Sana doesn’t waste a second. As soon as she sees Yousef getting out his car she does the same. Now they’re both running towards the door, trying to get there as soon as they can but also enjoying the run, both of them laughing.

“I won!” Yousef yells throwing his arms up in a victory gesture.

“What? I wasn’t aware this was a competition.” Sana raises her eyebrows at him as she shivers a little bit feeling her wet clothes against her skin.

“Of course it was, I just didn’t tell you.” Yousef smiles and shrugs. He wipes his hands on his jeans trying to get them dry but gives up when he realizes that his jeans are completely soaked.

“Oh, I see. The only way that you can beat me is by tricking me. If that makes you feel good.” Sana says with a smug smile.

Yousef’s answer to that is shaking his head effusively with the only intention to make the water drops of his hair fall into Sana’s face.

“Yousef!” She whispers-shouts, aware that it’s too late to raise her voice.

“Yeah, it does make me feel good.” He smirks at her and tries to seem cool but clearly, Sana doesn’t think he’s cool because as soon as she looks at him she starts to laugh. Yousef furrows his eyebrows confused. “What are you laughing at?”

“Your hair, it’s so damped that it’s sticking to your forehead.”

She takes a step forward and raises her hand, brushing Yousef’s hair off his face. Now, the normal thing would’ve been to just let her hand fall once her task is done. But instead of that, Sana just keeps her hand there, on Yousef’s hair. She can tell that he’s holding his breath, standing completely still. Sana, who up until now had been looking strictly at Yousef’s hair, lets her eyes gaze into Yousef’s. He’s clearly surprised by Sana’s gesture, she can tell by the look in his eyes. This makes Sana get out of her trance and finally let her hand fall, her eyes staring at the floor.

“There…it’s better now.” She says in a low voice.

“Thanks.” Yousef whispers back. When Sana looks up at him he notices that she has tiny water drops on her face, probably from his hair. It feels like now it his turn to return the favor. “I’m sorry for that.”

Hesitantly, he raises his hand to her face, stopping just before touching her, giving her the chance to refuse his touch. When she doesn’t he just rests his hand on Sana’s cheek, brushing away the drops with his thumb. Now Sana is the one that holds her breath. Unintentionally she leans a little into his touch, wanting to close her eyes but at the same time wanting to keep looking at Yousef’s eyes.

Yousef is aware that Sana’s face is already dry, that he should let his hand fall, that he shouldn’t be taking a step forward. But when he sees Sana swallowing right before biting her bottom lip, something inside of him tells him that this is the moment he’s been waiting for the whole night. The moment to tell the truth.

“Sana…” he whispers.

The next thing they know is that a blinding light is making them close their eyes and that someone is calling their names. Not just anyone, a photographer. A photographer who’s taking pictures of them while asking stuff about their relationship. In any other time they would stop to talk to the reporter, they’ve never denied an answer to anyone, but the fact that that man just approached them in the middle of the night at her parents’ house, makes Sana want to get inside her house and close the door in his face.

And that’s exactly what she does. She takes Yousef’s hand, opens the door and close it right behind Yousef. She can still hear the photographer calling them outside the house. Both, Yousef and Sana stay there in silence, waiting for the reporter to go, but it looks like he’s not planning on doing so.

“You can’t go out there.” Sana suddenly says catching Yousef’s attention.

“What?”

“You can’t go out there. He’ll bother you with questions.” Sana looks from the peephole and sees that the reporter is, in fact, still outside.

“My car is out there, I need to go home.” Yousef frowns, he’s not understanding what Sana means when she says he can’t go out there. He has to.

“You can stay here.”

“Here?”

“Yes, you can sleep on the couch if that’s cool with you. We’re meeting tomorrow for your family’s reunion anyway so you might aswell just sleep here. That way you don’t have to go out there now.” It seems like Sana has already drawn up a plan in her head.

“I wouldn’t want to bother you or your parents.” Yousef says. He actually agrees with Sana, him staying there is probably the best option he has right now. But still, he’s not sure what Sana’s parents would think about that.

“I’m the one inviting you and my parents won’t mind having you here. You’re my boyfriend…to them. As long as you’re not in my room, I don’t think they will mind you spending the night here.” That last sentence brings a playful smirk to Sana’s face.

Yousef widens his eyes and blushes slightly. How could Sana think that of him? Of course he wouldn’t go to her bedroom. He’s not like that. He would never do anything to disrespect her or her parents. He’s just going to stay in the living room. Of course he’s not going to even think of doing anything else…Oh, Sana is laughing. She’s laughing at him. That was a joke. Of course.

“Relax, it was a joke. I know you wouldn’t do that. Just stay here, I’m going to get you some clean sheets.”

He shakes his hand and laughs as he watches her leaving. That girl is going to be the end of him and he couldn’t care less about it.

  
-x-

Sana opens her eyes and smiles. She can’t remember what she was dreaming about but she feels like it was about something nice because she’s feeling…happy. She looks at her alarm clock. It’s a little bit late but it’s not like she has anything to do, at least not in the next few hours. The gathering at Yousef’s house is not until noon.

Yousef. She smiles even wider at the thought of their date. Their fake date. She closes her eyes and lets her mind go back to the previous night. To their trip to the mall. To their bowling date. To the restaurant where they had dinner. To the walk on the beach. To the pictures they took of each other. To the song battle they had in Yousef’s car. To the run under the rain. To the moment they shared at her front door. To them saying goodnight to each other after giving him the clean sheets.

Wait.

Sana sits on the bed quickly. Yousef. Yousef is in her house. Yousef slept at her house and she didn’t tell her parents. Sure, he slept in the living room and she’s sure her parents wouldn’t mind. But still, she hadn’t told them. Last night when they arrived it was too late to wake them up.

After dressing up, it doesn’t take her long to find Yousef. She can smell the coffee and pancakes in the kitchen. It’s weird, her mother only makes pancakes on weekends. It seems like having a guest is a good enough reason to break the tradition.

Well, Sana can relax, the tradition isn’t broken. Her mother is not making pancakes. Yousef is. She stops the minute she steps into the kitchen to process the scene her eyes are seeing. Yousef is in her kitchen, pan in one hand, a spatula in the other, humming to some song as he makes breakfast.

She smiles at the view and leans against the door frame. He must’ve felt her staring ‘cause he turns around a little startled.

“Good morning.” His lips curved into a big smile as he turns off the stove and gives his full attention to her.

“What are you doing?” Sana asks as she approaches him.

“Breakfast.” He takes two cups of coffee that are on the counter and hands one of them to Sana.

“Where are my parents?”

“Already gone. They were surprised to see me here. But they didn’t seem angry at all, in fact they were really nice.” Yousef, who’s still holding Sana’s cup of coffee, makes a gesture for her to take it.

“Elias?” She takes the cup from her hand but doesn’t drink yet.

“Sleeping.”

Sana nods and finally takes a sip from her cup. Yousef imitates her leaning against the counter. She looks around her kitchen, taking everything in, the pan where Yousef’s last pancake still is, the plate with the rest of them, the coffee pot now half empty and finally, Yousef. Yousef who’s looking right back at her, a fond smile on his lips.

They’re both aware that this situation should be weird. They’re standing in a kitchen, drinking coffee and looking at each other completely in silence. But it doesn’t feel weird. It doesn’t feel awkward. For both of them, it feels good. If feels familiar. Heartwarming.

A wild thought comes to Yousef’s mind as he looks at Sana: He wouldn’t mind making breakfast for Sana every single morning.

A just as wild thought comes to Sana’s mind as she looks at Yousef: She wouldn’t mind waking up to this every single morning.

“Am I interrupting something?”

Both Sana and Yousef are startled by Elias’ voice. He’s standing there, leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed on his chest, a smirk on his lips.

“We were just having breakfast.” Sana urges to excuse herself, then realizing that is not an excuse, they are, in fact, just having breakfast.

“I see. Yousef a little early for you to be here, isn’t it?” Elias asks walking to the coffee pot and pouring a cup for him.

“Oh, I…”

“He slept here.” Sana interrupts him. “There was a reporter outside the house when we came and Yousef couldn’t leave.”

“Hmm, interesting. I mean, it’s not like you’re used to deal with reporters or anything. It’s not like the reason you’re here is precisely to show the press how in love you are.” Elias is enjoying this situation way too much. Just like he enjoys every time he’s around these two idiots that insist on keeping the ‘fake’ part of their relationship going.

“Elias…” Sana warns him.

“No, seriously Sana, that’s such a good idea. What a better way to shut down the rumours about Yousef cheating on you than making Yousef sleep with you…at our house I mean, sleep at our house.” Yes, he’s definitely enjoying seeing Yousef and Sana blush and opening their mouths to say something, something that doesn’t come out. Elias laughs at their reaction and mutters: “Fake relationship my ass.”

“Elias!” Is all that Sana can say.

“Fake?” Is all that Yousef can say.

“Yousef…” Sana says, it seems like all she can say are names.

“Fake?”, Yousef repeats looking from Sana to Elias and back to Sana. “You told him?!”

“I’m sorry, but I couldn’t lie to him. I needed to tell someone. And he helped us with my parents.” Sana feels really bad. She had her reasons to tell the truth to her brother. But she also knows that it’s been really hard for Yousef not to tell anyone. And there she is, sharing her, their, secret with Elias.

Yousef looks at Sana.She has her lips pressed together, almost pouting, guilty eyes, eyebrows furrowed. He can’t be mad at her even if he wants to. He understand her. The burden of lying can be too much. It is too much for him. Maybe if he had a sibling he would’ve done the same thing. Still, there’s something he doesn’t understand.

“But you…you’ve been giving me a hard time since we met. You gave me the talk about being respectful to your sister, leaving an arm-length of distance and everything. And you knew that all of this is fake, all along?” The question is directed to Elias. To Yousef, Elias’ behavior was the normal one a brother would have with his little sister’s boyfriend. He seemed concerned and like he wanted to make sure that the guy who was dating Sana was a nice guy. Which is why Yousef can’t understand why he’d act like that if he knew that they aren’t dating.

“I knew that your agents asked you to pretend that you’re dating…now, if you’re asking me if I think that what you have is fake…well…”

“Elias!” Sana interrupts him. Again with the names’ thing. She shakes her head and looks at her boyfriend, fake boyfriend. “Yousef, I’m sorry. I know this isn’t fair to you.”

“It’s fine.” Yousef sighs “I get it. At least now I won’t have to endure Elias’ talk about me being a good boyfriend to you.”

“Well, we’ll see about that.” Elias says smirking.

“Elias!” Sana warns him once again. He’s really getting on her nerves.

“Jeez, Sana. Relax, you’re going to wear my name out.”

  
-x-

Family gatherings is probably Sana’s favorite thing in the world. Every time she comes to Oslo she tries to see as many people of her family as she can. And if they can all meet together at the same time to have a good day together then she literally can’t ask for more. That’s why she enjoyed the BBQ she had with her family at her house a few days ago.

As already said, Sana loves family gatherings. But when it’s not her family that gets together but your boyfriend’s, fake boyfriend, family then she can’t help but feeling a little insecure. That’s, of course, until she actually gets to meet Yousef’s family. Ever since they arrived an hour ago, Sana has felt nothing but welcomed. She had already met Yousef’s parents last time they visited Oslo, but now she’s getting to meet almost every single member of his family, and she’s loving every second of it.

Yousef, like Sana, has a big family. And half his family is in Turkey and not in Oslo but still, it’s very full. Somehow Sana had managed to be on her own for a moment, after countless great conversations with his family members.   
She’s standing at the far right side of the backyard, leaning on the wall of the house. Even when she wouldn’t say it out loud, not yet, she feels very at home here.

Sana’s gaze wanders through the garden, she’ looking for Yousef. He has vanished a while ago, he hasn’t seen his family in months.   
Then she sees him, on the other side of the garden.

He’s not alone, though. In his arms he’s holding a baby. A big smile finds its way onto Sana’s lips at this sight. Yousef is looking at the little baby with wide eyes, talking to her in funny tones. Sana doesn’t have to hear him to know that. He had told her about his little cousin being born a few months ago. She can’t keep her eyes off that scene playing out in front of her, even when it’s on the other side of the backyard.

She can’t believe that Yousef can get even more attractive. He’s a model and that well earned, Sana knows that by now. But seeing him with a baby in his arms, affectionately smiling at his little cousin Merve, Sana shakes her head smilingly. Apparently he can.

Sana can’t wait for the day he’s holding their baby like that, smiling at the baby so lovingly.

What? No, not their baby. Their fake baby.

No, that doesn’t make any sense. Sana shakes her head and shuts her eyes for moment. She just got confused. Feeling this way towards Yousef and seeing him be so cute with a baby messes with her head. Nothing more.

“He’s such a dork, isn’t he?”

Sana gets pulled out of her thoughts by a voice. She looks to her right and sees Yousef’s cousin, Arda, standing right next to her. He’s also looking at Yousef and the baby, a smirk on his lips.

“Huh?” Is all that Sana can say. What a way to make a first impression.

“My cousin, Yousef, he’s such a dork.” Nodding his head he points at the scene that Sana was so lovingly watching a few seconds ago.

She follows his gaze and can’t help but smile again. Will ever come the day when she looks at Yousef and doesn’t smile? Very unlikely.

“Yeah, he kind of is.” Sana agrees with him laughing a little. Yousef is a dork. Not that she would have him any other way.

“I still can’t believe that he convinced you to date him.” Arda says shaking his head.

“What do you mean?” Sana finds herself frowning at the boy next to her. She’s not dating Yousef so there was no convincing on his part but even if she was dating him she doesn’t think that would’ve been needed.

“That boy…he’s so awkward with girls. I honestly don’t think he’s ever had a girlfriend before you. We used to tease him about it, the way he would stutter and blush around girls. And now look at him, with the one and only Sana Bakkoush. How did he do that?” Arda’s words could seem like he is being mean, but the tone he uses to talk, tells Sana that he actually loves his cousin a lot. This is confirmed by his next words. “I’m really glad that he’s this happy, Sana. I’ve never seen him like this. Thank you.”

Sana gets a little overwhelmed for a moment. Why is he thanking her? She’s not doing anything at all. And why does every single member of Yousef’s family that she meets keep saying that they’ve never seen Yousef like this? They say that he’s always the one happy no matter what but now it’s even more. Is he really that happy? Is she really the reason for that?

Arda is clearly waiting for an answer. He’s not looking at Yousef and the baby anymore, his eyes are on her. She decides to try to light up the mood a little bit.

“What can I say? I love that dork.” She says half laughing.

She turns once again to look at Yousef. He’s now moving his head in a really funny way, probably singing something to his little cousin. She can see his foot moving to the rhythm of whatever song he’s singing, his eyes wide and his hair a little bit messy for the ‘dancing’.

As realization comes to her, her smile fades a little bit. People keep saying that Yousef has never been this happy. Has she? Has Sana ever been happier than these past few months? Has someone ever made her smile and laugh the way Yousef has? Has she ever felt more comfortable around a person?

The next words she says them more to herself than to the boy standing next to her.

“I’m in love with him.”


	13. Chapter 13

…

…

…

…

…

…

-x-

 

“The way to a man’s heart is through…the bed? According to Sana Bakkoush, it is.

We’re back here on Hollywood Today, I’m your host, Ashley Johnson and I have no idea where Yousana stands right now.

It’s only been a couple of weeks since Heart magazine brought us the exclusive of Yousef Acar allegedly cheating on his girlfriend Sana Bakkoush with a mysterious girl. In the pictures shown by said magazine we could see the actor being all over the mentioned girl.

Hollywood Today has got to know that this girl, whose name we won’t reveal, is Yousef’s old dance partner. And probably now more than that? We’ve had access to some old footage of them dancing together and I think it’s fair to say that there’s some maybe-already-resolved-tension between them.

But going back to what I said in the beginning, it seems that Sana has found a way to make her boyfriend stay with her. A way that maybe not everybody accepts.

Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar went on vacation, again, to Oslo just a few days ago. There they went full on love display on social media. We already talked here about how when you’re so eager to show everyone how much you love your partner maybe it’s because you don’t love them as much as you say.

And it’s not only that, Sana and Yousef were seen with, guess who! THE girl. They had coffee with her and talked for a few hours. Seems like when Sana decides to forgive someone she really does, huh?

How is Sana going to prevent Yousef from cheating on her again, you’re asking? Well, seems like our girl has a plan. After a date Sana decided to take things to the next level and invite Yousef to stay over for the night…AT HER PARENTS’ HOUSE! I mean girl, you can do whatever you want with your life but isn’t that a little too much?

People are already reacting to this. Twitter has been going crazy about this, with lots of tweet condemning Sana’s behavior, not only because she chose to stay with a cheating boyfriend but because she decided to do what for many people is against her values.

If you ask us, we have to say that all of this took us by surprise. We really liked yousana. Right now? Maybe not that much.

We’ll keep you informed until then let us know in the comments what you think about Sana’s behavior! Don’t forget to subscribe and give us thumbs up.”

 

Sana lowers her phone, feeling the urge to just throw it against the wall, and sighs. She just stares at the table in front of her. Her hands are shaking and she doesn’t know how she was able to read out those tweets and posts a few minutes ago. But that YouTube video, that just did it for her. Her stomach clenches, her heart beats so fast that it might actually break through her ribcage, tears very near to spilling. It’s hard to breathe for her. Her chest rising up and down quickly, even when she tries to calm herself. Clenching her hands into fists to make them stop shaking, pressing her lips together to make them stop quivering. Neither of the methods works very well.

As a single tear escapes and rolls down her cheek, Yousef stops pacing around the room. He was the one  Sana read those posts out to, he was with her in the room when she watched that damn video that made his blood boil. The worst part of it all? He doesn’t know how to help.

“Sana, I’m so sorry. That is so unfair to you! You didn’t do anything wrong but here they are making so fuc… Aaah, okay. We need to think. How to make this mess go away?”

Only then, after rambling on for a minute, trying to solve this mess in his head, he notices the strange silence. Turning to Sana, his heart aches. She sitting on the edge of the couch, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes shut. Slowly he approaches her. How is it fair that she’s being attacked like this?

Crouching in front of Sana, Yousef notices it. The single tear that rolled down her cheek. His hand itches to go ahead on wipe it away but he refrains. He gulps audibly, eyebrows furrowed in worry, and with a soft voice, says Sana’s name.

At first she doesn’t react. Instinctively, really not thinking about it, Yousef puts a hand over Sana’s clenched right hand. At that touch she slowly opens her eyes and directly looks into Yousef’s eyes.   
It’s obvious, Yousef thinks. It’s obvious how much this is wearing Sana down. The exhausted and sad look in her eyes makes him want to cry. The way she opens her mouth at first but goes back to pressing her lips together when they start to quiver again makes Yousef want to scream. He had hoped to never see Sana like this.

“Sana, I am so sorry.”, Yousef says, trying to hide the crack in his voice.

The girl sitting in front of him, looking younger and more vulnerable than she ever does, looks up at him with a confused look. Once more she shuts her eyes for a moment and when she opens them again, she takes a deep breath before answering.

“Why? You didn’t write any of that?”

“No, I didn’t. But I’m the one who was stupid enough to let the press take pictures of him with another girl. I’m the one who insisted on walking you to your door, which led us to me staying at your house. I’m so sorry, Sana.” Yousef says all of this maybe way too fast. But once he started talking he just couldn’t stop. He feels so bad about everything that is happening. He knows it’s his fault. He’s so new to this world. Sana and his agent and pretty much everyone warned him about the press. And still, he messed up.

“Yousef this is not your fault. The press is the only one to blame. They took some random pictures and twisted everything. I’m not mad at you. I’m mad at the press because…” her voice breaks a little. She takes a deep breath trying to sober up before continuing. “because I’m not like that. I’m not who they’re saying I am.”

“Of course you’re not!” Maybe Yousef has put too much emphasis in this, but he needs to make sure that knows that he doesn’t think of her like that. Sana is nothing like the press say she is. She has nothing to feel ashamed of. She hasn’t done anything they’re saying she’s done. And damn, even if she had, she wouldn’t have anything to be ashamed of. “Listen to me, Sana. You’re nothing like they’re saying you are. You’re the most amazing girl I’ve ever known. Please, don’t let them get to you. Please.”

Yousef’s words are almost a beg. His heart breaks seeing her like that. And knowing that, even if she says it isn’t, this is all his fault.

“I just…I’m really sorry, Sana. Your life was so much better before I was cast for that damn movie.” Yousef says, too embarrassed to even look at her.

Sana looks at him and narrows her eyes a little bit. Is he really still apologizing? Why is he like this? How has she managed to find such a nice guy? And more important, how does he do this? Every single time she’s feeling down, he comes and says just the right thing, what she needs to hear to make her feel better. Now, that last sentence, about how her life was better before she met him? That’s definitely not true. Her lips itch to curve into a smile but she tries to contain it as she says the next words.

“You’re right. My life was easier before I met you.”

He snaps his head up and looks at her. He was hoping she wouldn’t say that. He was really, really, hoping she would tell him that he was wrong. That she doesn’t regret anything that has happened between them. He doesn’t blame her though, all he’s brought to her life are problems.

“Sana…” he says hesitantly. He really doesn’t want to ask the next question. He really doesn’t want to hear her answer. But he has to. He has to give her the chance to escape this whole situation. Screw this plan that makes Sana this miserable. Screw their agents and especially Robert.  “Do you want to break up with me?”

Now Sana is surprised. She wasn’t expecting that. She thought he would see right through her and know that she was only joking. She widens her eyes and frowns, trying to see if maybe he’s the one messing with her right now. But all she can see in Yousef’s eyes is pain and guilt.

Sana opens her right hand, where Yousef’s was resting, and intertwines her fingers with his, squeezing his hand slightly. Yousef looks straight into her eyes, clearly wondering what’s going on. Sana’s lips finally curve into a fond smile.

“No. That’s something I would never do.”

  
-x-

“You have to break up”

Yousef and Sana’s gasps are audible in the room.

When they were called to meet their agents and the people from PR, they knew that they weren’t going to like what they had to tell them, they knew that they would probably reprimand them about what had happened in Norway, but what they didn’t expect was this.

Yousef opens his mouth to talk but Sana speaks first.

“What do you mean break up?”

“I mean just that. You two can’t be together anymore. The fake relationship is over.” Robert, always Robert, says.

“Over?” Is all that Yousef can say. He’s still trying to process the first sentence.

“Yes, Yousef, over.” Bendikt confirms. “These last rumours are really damaging your image.”

“Both of your reputations.” Agnes adds looking from Yousef to Sana.

“But, what the press is saying is not true. You of all people should know that Agnes.” Sana can’t help but feel a little hurt, Agnes should know that she’s not who the press is saying.

“This is all my fault. I’m the one that screwed up in the first place.” Yousef says, still blaming himself for the ‘incident’ with Astrid.

“This is not your fault, Yousef.” Bendikt tries to calm him, he knows he feels really guilty about all of this.

“This is no one’s fault. And Sana, of course I know that what they say is not true.” Agnes gives Sana a reassuring smile, she loves her as a daughter and she would never think badly of her.

“It doesn’t matter whose fault it is.” Robert intervenes. “The thing is that it’s damaging your image and it’s damaging the movie, it still has another two weeks left in the cinema, and right now you two being a couple is worse than anything.”

“But…we can’t break up.” Sana says, almost whispering.

Yousef snaps his head up and looks at her. Is she trying to stop this? Is she thinking the same as he is? Is she was afraid of this as he is? Yousef doesn’t want the relationship to be over. Sure, he doesn’t want to be in a fake relationship with Sana. But right now, it’s the best he has. He rather be in a fake relationship with her than not being with her at all.

“The videoclip is coming next week. If we break up now it will affect that.” Sana continues.

For a moment, she was about to blurt out that she doesn’t want to break up with Yousef. She doesn’t want the fake relationship to be over. Sure, it’s not real. But it feels real, at least to her. She doesn’t want to lose him. But is not like she can say that to him, and of course, she can’t say that in front of all these people. So instead she goes for her second best argument, the videoclip. They’ve worked so hard on it, they can’t just throw it all away.

“Frankly, Sana. That video clip is the least of my concerns right now” , Robert says, looking disapprovingly back and forth between the fake-couple that’ll be a fake ex-couple now. He’s almost glaring at the two actors which makes Sana raise her eyebrows at him in a challenging way. He was the one that put them in this fake relationship situation in the first place, why does he think that he would be greeted with a respectful smile when he is being like this.

“It is our concern, though.”, Sana says, crossing her arms over her chest and feeling herself get more aggravated by the second.

“Yes!”, Yousef adds, “We worked really hard on that project and we don’t half-ass projects, be it while doing it or promoting it.”

Yousef smiles bitterly at Robert which makes him take a step back and Sana smile to herself.

“I mean, we participated in the fake-dating thing even when we were so against it in the beginning.”, Yousef says in a very dry tone, just looking at Robert, “So you see how serious we are with our projects.”

Somehow, the most dominant thought in Sana’s head is: Why is Yousef so serious about this break up of a fake relationship? Is it really just the project or is it more? Like it is for her. Trying to not get too excited doesn’t really work when he turns around to her and the cold look on his face changes completely once his eyes meet hers.

For a short moment they only look at each other with tiny smiles playing on their lips.

“We’re going to be honest here.”, Bendikt starts, pointing at Agnes who is standing next to him.

“Neither of us cared much about that little music video anyway.”, Agnes continues.

Without giving either of their two clients a chance to answer or even react.

“Great. Seeing as not even your agents care about that small music video there is no reason for you to keep pretending to be a couple.”, Robert says, actually sounding pleased about this a lot.

“You’re going to break up, it’s official then.”

  
-x-

Most of the time Sana loves her job. Today is not one of those days. It’s only been three days since that announcement was made, that Sana and Yousef have to stop pretending to be a couple. Even when she is feeling like locking herself inside her house and just watch TV all day and not talk to anyone, Sana has to go out into the public where cameras are directed at her and where many people will analyze every single thing she does or says. It’s exhausting, it’s always exhausting but that day it’s the last thing she wants to do.  
But Sana knows has to do this, she has to give this interview.   
Officially it’s about a guest appearance she makes on a popular TV show but her actual aim is to clear Yousef’s name. And clear her own name. Agnes doesn’t know of this hidden plan but Sana couldn’t care less.

Well, even if Sana didn’t plan on talking about her ex-boyfriend, her fake ex-boyfriend, she would have to anyway. One of the first questions she is asked by the interviewer is about him.

“So, how is it going with Yousef?” The question is loaded with a hidden ‘Tell us all the juicy details’ which makes Sana want to roll her eyes and scoff. Instead she answers with a polite smile.

“We broke up.”

Sana only says that while the interviewer almost falls out of his chair, leaning forward to Sana not to miss anything she says.

“You broke up?”, he asks, obviously very surprised, “After you forgave him for cheating on you?”

Sana presses her lips together, takes a breath to calm herself after seeing the interviewer so excited about these news. Good to know people care about others so much.

Shaking her head, Sana answers that and gets to do what she is here for.

“I never forgave him for cheating on me.” She can almost see the people around them hold their breath at this. “ I never forgave him for cheating because he didn’t. He never cheated on me.”

“But… “

Sana doesn’t give the interviewer any time to spark any more rumours with whatever he wanted to say. Instead she just continues to talk.

“If he had cheated on me I wouldn’t have forgiven him. I would never go back to a cheating boyfriend, no matter how much I love him.”, Sana states with a lot of confidence in her voice. “And he would never do that, Yousef would never cheat on anyone. That’s not who he is.”

For a moment there is silence in the room. Nobody from the crew they’re surrounded with dares to make a sound.

“So why did you break up then? If he didn’t cheat on you.”, the interviewer wants to know.

Sana feels like laughing. He is part of the reason. Folding her hands on her lap Sana looks at the interviewer and explains.

“The pressure put on us by everyone around us. More so from people we don’t even know. We couldn’t be happy together and show that without people analyzing every detail and twisting things to make one of us, or sometimes both of us, look like a villain.”

With a small smile, remembering some of the time she has spent with Yousef, Sana sighs.

“We love each other so much that we decided to leave it there, to break up, before we started to hate each other because of the pressure put on us and because of the press twisting everything to make even us doubt the other one in the relationship.”, Sana gulps audibly and presses her lips together. She tries to calm herself down, to not show how sad she is in this very moment.

Then she puts on her polite smile and faces the camera with a nice smile before she turns to the interviewer: “Now that that’s clear, we could go back to the reason I’m here. My guest role.”

 

 

Yousef turns the TV off. For a few minutes he just stares at himself in the black screen. He realizes how bad he looks. His hair is a mess, his eyes are red, dark circles under his eyes showing the lack of sleep. Closing his eyes and shaking his head he tries to collect himself. He thought he could do it. He thought that seeing her on TV wouldn’t hurt. He thought wrong.

Opening his eyes he takes his phone and goes through his playlist, looking for the song he’s been listening on repeat since he was forced to break up with Sana.   
He changed his rule of only adding songs he has a choreography for to this playlist. Sana had told him about this new artist that is really good. Only for Sana he would change that rule he followed since high school.   
If only he knew that he is not the only one listening to this song. If only he knew Sana also can’t stop listening to [Saved by Khalid](http://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DDyg32hMf7Fk&t=ODUzYmE4NzFlNDIyYmFkYWIxMGYyZDhjYzk3YzJjZTE3MGVlYTUwMSxHVzF3RGZrRw%3D%3D&b=t%3AHT-zCde2ZyUera7HdUOhaA&p=https%3A%2F%2Fmovetogetherau.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F164293374484%2Fmove-together-a-yousana-au-chapter-13&m=1).

  
-x-  
  
  
 **Fariha Hakimi** : Hey

 **Fariha Hakimi** : I’ve just watched your interview

 **Fariha Hakimi** : Are you okay?

 **Fariha Hakimi** : Do you need to talk?

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I’m fine

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  Considering the circumstances

 **Sana Bakkoush** : I’d like to see you but I don’t know if I feel like going out

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  I don’t want to deal with the press

 **Fariha Hakimi:**  That’s fine. I can go to your house if you want. 

 **Fariha Hakimi:**  Girls night :)

 **Sana Bakkoush:** That sounds good

 **Fariha Hakimi** : Sana…I have to ask

 **Fariha Hakimi** : Did he do it?

 **Fariha Hakimi:**  You know I won’t tell anyone

 **Fariha Hakimi:**  I just want you to know that you can trust me. You can talk to me

 **Sana Bakkoush** : He didn’t do it

 **Sana Bakkoush:**  He would never do that

 **Sana Bakkoush** : Not to me. Not to anyone. 

  
-x-

 

“The couple that acts together doesn’t always stay together. Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar broke up.

I’m Ashley Johnson and this is Hollywood Today.

Yes, my beloved viewers, Hollywood’s most commented couple finally broke up.

It all started a few weeks ago when Heart magazine revealed several pictures of Yousef Acar on a cozy “date” with another girl. Rumours of cheating instantly spread but the couple stayed together, even going on vacation to their hometown.

Lots of people started to give their opinion on this. Had Yousef really cheated? Had Sana forgiven him? Had a passionate night in Oslo erased all of their problem? Well, it seems like at least we know the answer to that last question.

No, their problems were far from erased.

In a recent interview Sana said that she and Yousef broke up. When asked about the rumours of cheating she said with a bit of attitude may I add, and quote “I never forgave him for cheating because he didn’t. He never cheated on me.”

She seems very sure of her boyfriend’s, or ex boyfriend’s loyalty and claims that if that wasn’t the case she wouldn’t have been with him.

According to Sana the reason for their break up was “The pressure put on us by everyone around us. More so from people we don’t even know. We couldn’t be happy together and show that without people analyzing every detail and twisting things to make one of us, or sometimes both of us, look like a villain.”

How much of this is true and how much it isn’t will only be revealed in time.

Up until now yousef has not made any declaration about this issue. But you can be sure that if he does we’ll be the first one to inform you.

Until then, we’re leaving with our best wishes for these two actors. We hope that this break up was as friendly as it can be considering the circumstances.”

  
-x-

-x-

 

It’s been a week.

A week since they ‘broke up’.

A week since they have no excuse to be together anymore.

A week since they can’t be seen together anymore, because, why would they be together? They’ve broken up.

A week since they haven’t seen each other.

A week since they are alone.

 

_“The hard part always seems to last forever_

_Sometimes I forget that we aren’t together”_

Sana is in her living room, sitting on the couch.

Yousef is in his living room, sitting on the couch.

Both of them are trying to focus on whatever they’re doing, Sana reading a book, Yousef watching TV. But the truth is that neither of them can’t concentrate.

Sana’s phone beeps. So does Yousef’s. A YouTube notification.

Both of them were expecting it.

Both of them were dreading it.

-

Sana hesitates before pressing play.

Yousef takes a deep breath and presses play.

The video starts, and with it, the memories.

Sana remembers the first day of rehearsals.

So does Yousef.

Sana remembers how she was so scared of messing up, she was never a good dancer.

Yousef remembers how he was so excited to start, he’s always been a good dancer.

Sana remembers the fear of falling down.

Yousef remembers the fear of letting her fall down.

Sana remembers feeling safe in Yousef’s arms.

Yousef remembers the warm feeling of Sana in his arms.

Sana remembers trusting Yousef.

Yousef remembers trusting Sana.

The memories don’t stop there.

Sana remembers the movie set, listening to music, she wasn’t alone anymore, she had someone to listen to her music with.

Yousef remembers the movie set, being afraid, being overwhelmed and then, being helped, being supported, being appreciated, all by the same person.

Sana remembers the coffee breaks, black coffee.

Yousef remembers the coffee breaks, vanilla latte.

Sana remembers the proposition.

Yousef does too.

Neither of them regret it.

Sana remembers the interviews, the photoshoots.

Yousef remembers the premiere, the parties.

Sana remembers the roof.

Yousef remembers the roof.

Sana remembers Oslo.

Yousef remembers Oslo.

Both of them remember their date. Their first real date. Because to them, it was real.

Sana remembers how Yousef ordered Sana’s second option as dessert, because he knew she wanted to try both of them.

Yousef remembers Sana taking him, store by store, until he found the t-shirt he was looking for, pretending that she also wanted to look at the clothes.

Sana remembers trying to go easy on Yousef while bowling, she’d been playing that since she was little.

Yousef remembers how she beat him at bowling even if she tried not to so he wouldn’t feel bad.

Sana remembers the walk on the beach, the sound of the ocean.

Yousef remembers the walk on the beach, the feeling of the sand.

Both of them remember the feeling of their hands intertwined.

Sana remembers singing in the car.

So does Yousef.

Sana remembers Yousef’s smile.

Yousef remembers Sana’s laugh.

Sana remembers walking in the rain.

Yousef remembers not caring about being wet.

Sana remembers saying good night to Yousef.

Yousef remembers waking up at Sana’s.

Sana remembers the sight of Yousef making her breakfast. Something she’d like to have every day.

Yousef remembers making breakfast for Sana. Something he’d like to do every day.

Sana remembers Yousef’s family.

Yousef remembers Sana’s family.

Sana remembers Yousef and a baby.

Yousef remembers Sana and a kid.

Sana remembers being in love with Yousef.

Yousef remembers being in love with Sana.

Sana loves Yousef.

Yousef loves Sana.

Sana is alone.

Yousef is alone.

Sana cries.

And Yousef, he cries too.

The video ends.

  
-x-  
  


 

“How has it been for you with this new job? You were, but still are, a model but now you’re also an actor. How was that change? Was it difficult?”

Yousef’s sitting in a chair across from the interviewer, they’re at a small table. It’s an interview for a magazine but they didn’t miss the chance to film it and publish it on YouTube.

Yousef nods along while the question is being asked and then answers.

“I’m going to be honest, it hasn’t been easy. Even though you’d think modeling and acting is similar, the surroundings are very different. I was lucky to have a friend that was by my side through the very hard beginning. If it hadn’t been for Sana Bakkoush, who I played along side for ‘Finding the truth’ I probably would have quit on the very first day. It’s funny now but on my first day on set I couldn’t bring out one word. I knew my lines but it just didn’t work. Until Sana came along and talked to me about it and calmed me with anecdotes of her first days of acting. She’s been in this industry for a lot longer than I have and she’s had to deal with a lot in the beginning and did that incredibly and has been such a great girl sharing tips with me, being always one call away and in a way setting a great example without dictating me what to do, of course.”

Yousef knows this answers is longer than it should have been but all of this is true. He’s done lying, he’s trying to only say the truth now.

“You seem very fond of those memories. So is it safe to assume that there’s no bad blood between you and Sana? I mean, after your breakup.”

Yousef shakes his head. His smile doesn’t falter but the look in his eyes changes. He becomes more serious.

“No. Why would there be?”

“Well… people agree that it must’ve been a messy break up with … the rumours and comments.”

Yousef has to control himself and try really hard to not glare at this interviewer. He speaks like he knows everything while he knows nothing.

“Well…”, Yousef imitates the tone the interviewer used but in a very subtle way. “People don’t know what happened. None of those rumours were true. I never cheated. I’m not saying this to put my name in the clear. I’m not with Sana anymore so I wouldn’t have a reason to keep talking about this and try to make people believe me. But I just want people to know that Sana never would go back to a cheating boyfriend, in any way. The only reason we broke up was exactly that: the press overwhelmed us with all that nonsense. It got too hard to keep it going.”

“So you don’t hate her?”

“Of course not. She’s an amazing person. I love her. I will probably always love her. It sadly just didn’t work out.”

Sana stares at the laptop screen. Her eyes filled with tears that threaten to spill any second. Her chest tightened making it hard to breathe. Her heart aching.

After everything that happened all he does is say only good things about her. Seeing him, even if it’s just in a video on her laptop, after not seeing him for weeks makes her emotional. She was so used to have him in her life. He was a constant in her life for the past months. He was there with her every day. Not many good memories of the past weeks are without Yousef as a part of them.

Yousef’s looking good in the video. He’s a real model. But Sana can’t help but notice that he looks more serious than she is used to. Yousef who usually has a happy smile on his face no matter what is still smiling. He is, but Sana knows him enough to know that it’s just a polite smile. Not one he means.

Still, seeing him on her laptop screen offers her comfort.

Sitting here, alone in her living room, she feels miserable. Just seeing his face made her cheer up for a moment.

Sighing, Sana looks at her phone. It’s right next to her laptop. Without thinking much about it she grabs it. Unlocking her phone she goes to her contacts and scrolls down to his name.

_Yousef the bestest boyfriend_

Sana smiles at that weakly. She remembers Yousef changing his contact name when they were back in Oslo. He had seen his name on her phone screen when he decided to text her while they were sitting right next to each other. He had asked her if he should try and grow a beard, out of nowhere. Sana had burst out laughing at that question and confused the Balloon Boys and her brother who were all busy eating their McDonalds food.

But she had decided to go along, opened the chat and started to answer when Yousef had grabbed her phone out of her hand and quickly changed the name.

 

_“But I’ll keep your number saved_

_‘Cause I hope one day you’ll get the sense to call me”_

At this memory, finally a tear escapes Sana’s eyes. Then one more and one more. Until she can’t stop. It’s hard to believe that this was just weeks ago. It all seemed so much easier. It all was so much easier. The officially dating was still fake but her feelings weren’t. And she didn’t have to hide or try to forget them.

Now she does. Now they’re 'officially’ broken up. There’s no fake dating. There are no fake dates. There are no fake late night talks. There are no fake posts about enjoying their time together.

The only problem is that it wasn’t fake for a long time now.

Taking away the finger that has been hovering over Yousef’s contact, Sana breathes out slowly, shuts off her phone and lets the tears loose.

 

_“I’m hoping that you’ll say_

_You’re missing me the way I’m missing you”_

It’s too late now.

  
-x-

-x-

 

_“Now, I can’t say I’ll be alright without you_

_And I can’t say that I haven’t tried to”_

 

 

“Sanaaa! How’s my favorite sister?”

Sana laughs but rolls her eyes. Since they’re facetiming Elias obviously sees this but ignores it.

“Elias, I’m your only sister.”

Dramatically Elias sighs and Sana sees how he throws himself back on his bed, making everything Sana sees blurry for a second.

“Sis, you’re supposed to say that I’m your favorite brother now.”, he says slowly, as if Sana would need assistance understanding what he’s saying.

Sana knows this, but she acts like she doesn’t. Sitting back on the couch, Sana looks straight at the camera and smiles sweetly before answering.

“You’re not my favorite brother, Karim is.”

Elias gasps and sits up, holding the phone so close to his face that Sana sees more details than she ever needed to. Holding the phone in a position that Sana can only see Elias’ eyes narrowing lightly, her brother answers to that in a deep voice.

“We both know that that is not true. Don’t lie. That’s haram.”

Sana starts laughing and shakes her head. Elias is supposed to be older than her but he’s the one acting like a child almost every time the two of them talk. However, that is exactly what Sana needs right now. It’s the first time in a rather long while that she feels like laughing, genuinely laughing.

Suddenly, Sana sees how Elias’ smile fades. He clearly didn’t call just to tell her some lame joke. She knows what this is about, she knows what he’s going to ask her. She doesn’t want to hear the question.

“So, how are you doing?”

“What do you mean?” Sana tries to act like she doesn’t know what he’s talking about.

But Elias knows better. He tilts his head and raises his eyebrows at her.

“How are you doing…after the breakup?”

“Well, Elias, I think that precisely you should know that it didn’t affect me at all, you know it was all fake.”

“Fake. It was all fake. Okay. Then you’re not affected about the fact that you can’t see him anymore. You don’t care about the fact that it’s been weeks since you last saw each other. And of course, I bet you’re not hurt even a little bit about the fact that according to the magazines he’s already moved on, and with a cute blonde model.” He doesn’t want to say all these things, he doesn’t want to hurt his sister, that’s the last thing he wants. But he has to. He has to show Sana that he knows what she’s going through, that she can trust him, that she can talk to him. He has to show Sana that it’s okay not to be okay.

“Of course…not affected at all…” Sana says, her voice breaking at the end. She blinks away the tears and tries to put on a brave smile.

Again, Elias knows better and doesn’t believe her.

“Sana…I’m sure that what they’re saying is not true. I don’t believe that he’s with that girl. You better than anyone know how this stuff works. We’re talking about the same magazine that said he cheated on you.”

“Well, they don’t always tell lies, do they?” Sana says bitterly. She really wants to believe that Elias is right, that there’s no way Yousef would’ve moved on so soon. But then again, there was nothing to move on from. Nothing real. Not to him. “Anyways, I really don’t care.”

_“I hope you think of all the times we shared”_

“Sana, it’s me. Not anyone you have to put on a mask for.”, Elias says, smiling weakly at the camera. “You don’t always have to be strong.”

Sana feels herself get teary eyed again, blinks those tears away as best as she can but feels like crying anyway. Pretending to be fine is easier than letting go of the walls you built up. Pretending to be fine gives you the hope that you’re going be fine.

_“It’s crazy how this love thing seems unfair”_

  
-x-

-x-

 

He knew he shouldn’t have seen it. He knew he shouldn’t have looked for it. He knew that he shouldn’t have done what those tweets told him. But yet, there he is, standing in the middle of his living room, a magazine in his hands. Not only a magazine. The magazine. All day he’s been receiving tweets and messages from people he doesn’t know, asking what he thinks about Heart magazine’s new cover. He didn’t know what they were talking about. Now he does.

He feels his heart beating fast, his hands sweating. He lets the magazine fall down to the floor, he just can’t keep looking at it.

He wants to be mad, he wants to be disappointed, he wants to scream. He doesn’t. Instead he feels sad, just completely and utterly sad.

Of course she has moved on. With Mutta. He’s a great guy, really nice, super talented. Of course Sana would like him. Of course he would like her. Who doesn’t like Sana Bakkoush? Of course she moved on, it was just an act anyway.

He wants to feel betrayed about the fact that his girlfriend, ex girlfriend, ex fake girlfriend, has moved on with one of his friends, his possible friend. But again, he doesn’t. He feels like this is what he deserves. He feels like this is just the way things are. He only met the boys because of Sana. Because Sana needed him to play that role in the video. And Sana only asked him because she was forced to act like she was his girlfriend. Nothing had been real. Not to her, anyway. So why would he be surprised that they all just moved on without him?

 

_“So I’ll keep your number saved_

_'Cause I hope one day I’ll get the pride to call you”_

His phone starting to ring startles Yousef. He stops staring at the magazine he had thrown to the ground but couldn’t take his eyes off it completely, and turns his eyes to the phone on the table. It’s vibrating so much that it moves on its own. The name on the screen makes Yousef’s chest tighten. Elias. Sana’s brother. Why would he be calling? There is nothing that connects Yousef to him anymore. Yousef’s fake relationship to Elias’ sister has ended. The music video is out. There is nothing connecting them now. Not anymore.

The phone stops ringing, leaving Yousef in silence.The silence around him is almost deafening. The phone ringing did sound very loud just seconds ago so how is the silence louder than it?  
Not being able to stand the absence of any noise around him makes Yousef grab his phone off the table and unlock it. He doesn’t know what he wanted to do with it. So he just stares at the background of his phone. A picture of Sana and Yousef’s chairs on set. Right next to each other. Yousef’s chair slighlty leaning towards hers. It just happened after Yousef kept leaning over to Sana to talk to her in every single break.   
Shaking his head Yousef clicks on the first app that he sees. He should change that background. He didn’t have the heart to do it yet.   
As Instagram loads Yousef shakes his head at himself. Of course he would be the mess he is right now after everything that happened. He doesn’t get to dwell more in his self-pity because he sees that Adam from the Balloon Boys has posted something on his Insta-Story. He always does some funny stuff and makes Yousef laugh so he quickly clicks on it.

 

Lowering his phone slowly, in a daze that makes it hard for Yousef to think straight for a moment. She looks happy. She should look happy. She should be happy. She doesn’t deserve anything else.

The light coming from the phone fades, leaving Yousef stare at the ground once again.

He’s sitting alone in his living room, still not able to keep his eyes off that magazine cover. Still not able to just call Sana and tell her how he feels. Still not able to do that and ruin Sana’s happiness just because he dared to fall in love.

 

_“To tell you that no one else_

_Is gonna hold you down the way that I do”_

Yousef realizes, not only did he lose the girl he fell in love with but also the friends he thought he had.

This is just how things are supposed to be. He was never the main character of this story, he was only a guest star in Sana Bakkoush’s life. End of scene.

* * *

For the Tumblr posts we used usernames we came up with while writing. If any of them exist, please know that this is purely fictional and is not related at all with those blogs. 


	14. Chapter 14

“I know, and then I told him that I don’t care. I needed that date for the release of the album to be set so I ….”

  
Sana is supposed to listen to some music producer her brother and her are having a conversation with but she can’t. She doesn’t care about anything he’s saying. This was not her initial plan for tonight. What Sana had planned was sitting in front of the TV in her sweatpants and with ice cream. Now she’s all done up and is supposed to socialize with people she doesn’t know and right now doesn’t feel like getting to know. The only reason why Sana is here are the Balloon Boys. She wants to celebrate their success with them. They deserve it. But whenever he sees any of them Sana’s mind goes straight to Yousef. She can’t listen to any of the Balloon Boys’ songs without remembering singing along to them with Yousef, on set or in the car. She can’t listen to any of the Balloon Boys’ songs without remembering the rehearsals of that dance for the music video, without remembering Yousef being by her side the whole time.  She can’t listen to any of the Balloon Boys’ songs without hearing Yousef’s voice. She feels like she can hear it right now, from the other side of the room.

Wait, that’s not her imagination. She can actually hear it.

Not caring about the people around her, she turns around completely and looks at the front door. There, standing next to Adam, who’s welcoming him, is him, Yousef. Sana holds her breath as her eyes focus on him. He’s looking as great as always, maybe even better, but that’s probably because she’s missed him so much. He hasn’t seen her yet, he’s looking at Adam and a older man that has just joined them. Sana knows that she should be acting normal, that she shouldn’t let people know the effect that boy has on her, but she just can’t help it, she can’t tear her eyes off of him.

“Are you okay?” she hears Elias whispering next to her. He’s now looking at Yousef too, ignoring that man they were talking to.

It’s not until she feels Elias’ hand on her shoulder that she really processes his words. Making a huge effort to look away from Yousef, she turns to Elias and opens her mouth, no words come out of it.

And that’s when he sees her.

Yousef is really happy for the Balloon Boys, being successful and scoring a record deal. However, as soon as Yousef steps into the venue his eyes searched for only one person. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew it would only hurt him. But he missed Sana. He really missed her. Seeing her in person, even if it is from afar was the only thought that could bring him here. Even when he wants to support the band. He wouldn’t have come otherwise.

Then his eyes land on her. Adam is still talking but none of that reaches Yousef anymore. All he sees, all he can concentrate on is Sana. She’s on the other side of the room and not alone. But Yousef can’t tear his eyes away for just a second to look at the other people. He doesn’t want to miss even one second of the chance to look at Sana.

As always, Sana looks beautiful. Dressed in light pink, Sana looks like a princess more than ever. He should look away. He shouldn’t be so obvious. He shouldn’t be staring at her like this. But there’s not much he can do about it. Not when she’s also looking at him. Not when a small smile appears on her lips when their eyes meet.

How long they stand like that, on different sides of the room, ignoring everyone around them to simply look at each other Yousef doesn’t know. Neither does Sana. They don’t care. It’s like they are having a conversation without words. A conversation that doesn’t have much content, except for ‘You’re really here’.

Taking a deep breath, Sana and Yousef start walking at the same time. They don’t make any indication that they want to do that but still, they end up start walking at the very same second. Leaving the people and conversations they were supposed to have. Without thinking of how rude they are or what people might think.

The only important thing now is Sana.

The only important thing now is Yousef.

They don’t really know how long has it taken them to stand where they are now, right in front of each other, only a step keeping them apart, but it feels like it was way more than they both would’ve wanted.

For a few seconds they just keep doing what they’ve been doing since they laid eyes on each other, which is just staring at each other, a smile on their lips and not saying anything.

Sana is trying to bring herself to talk. So is Yousef, he wants to say something, anything is better than just staring at her like some kind of weirdo. Taking a deep breath they both open their mouth at the same. They don’t get to talk though, ‘cause just as they’re about to say something a annoying sound interrupts them. The sound of a microphone being turned on.

Sana flinches a little bit while Yousef closes his eyes. Once the sound is over they can finally hear Adam’s voice.

“Sorry about that, I only use these things to sing.” He apologizes.

Both Sana and Yousef turn to look at him. He’s standing a few meters from them, Mutta on his right and Mikael on his left.

“We just wanted to thank you all for coming today. This…” Adam continues but again, the mic makes a loud sound and Mikael ends up taking the mic from him.

“I’ll do the talking because apparently we only have this one with us because he has a pretty face.” Mikael jokes rolling his eyes. “What Adam wanted to say is that this is such a big moment for us. If someone had told us a few years ago, when we decided to create the band, that we would be here, in LA, signing a contract with a record label…well, I probably would’ve believed them because we are awesome.”

Everybody laughs at Mikael’s words except Mutta who shakes his head and takes the microphone from Mikael.

“Do you see what I have to go through every day with dumb and dumber here?” Again, everybody laughs. Even Sana, whose laugh at Mutta’s words brings Yousef’s attention to her. “Anyway, the thing is that this is unbelievable and we’re happy that you are all here to celebrate with us. But before we continue, there are some people missing here. People that should be standing right next to us.”

Mutta looks around the room until his eyes lands on Sana. His lips curve into a smile and Sana shakes her head a little bit, knowing what is about to happen. Yousef, who’s still looking at Sana narrows his eyes as he turns to face Mutta and the boys. He tries really hard not to feel bitter about this, about Sana and Mutta sharing some kind of moment, but he fails.

“Miss Sana Bakkoush, would you join us please?” Mutta smiles widely at her and he passes the microphone to Adam.

“Yousef, you too man, come here!”

“And of course, Elias Bakkoush, the best director in the whole industry…sorry for the directors that are here today, but it’s true.” Mikael says as he leans to the microphone on Adam’s hands and shrugs.  

Instinctively Sana looks to her right side, where Yousef is still standing. He also looks at her and they both shrug, walking a few steps towards the stage. Then,Sana stops. She doesn’t think about it and puts her hand on Yousef’s arm to stop him too.

Yousef stops in his tracks when he feels Sana’s hand on his arm. While he looks down on to her hand, she looks at someone behind them and with a smile turns to Yousef.

“Elias is coming too.”

The three of them walk to the stage together. Sana is the first one to climb the few stairs that are more difficult to Sana because of the high heels she is wearing. Mutta sees Sana wobble slightly and quickly moves to the edge of the stage and extends his hand for Sana to take.  

Yousef watches as Sana places her hand in Mutta’s and how he leads the way to stand next to Adam. Sana ends up in between Mutta and Adam.

Elias goes to stand in between Adam and Mikael and that leaves Yousef to stand next to Mikael, at the far right side.

Mikael looks from Yousef to the other two guests on the stage and smiles to himself. Taking the microphone off Adam’s hand, he says: “Like we said, without you three amazing people we wouldn’t be standing here now.”

Adam leans towards Mikael, in front of Elias and almost shouts until Mikael gives him the mic: “We want to thank Elias for being the best friend someone can wish for and for introducing us to Sana and Yousef.”

Now Mutta grabs the mic out of Adam’s hand. He opens his mouth to say something but before he can get one word out, Adam takes back the microphone in a quick move and grins at the people that laugh at that interaction.

“I wasn’t finished, Mutta.”, he shakes his head in a jokingly disapproving way, “But what I wanted to say is that I’m really happy to have met all three of you and no offense to the other’s but Yousef… boy, do you have some great moves. You learned that complex choreo in what… 15 minutes? And helped around set and that wasn’t even your job? Keep being the amazing dude you are.”

Sending a look towards Yousef, Adam hands the mic to Mutta, extending his arm over Sana’s head. Mutta rolls his eyes at his band mate before he starts talking.

“Since Sana is standing right next to me, let me tell you something about her.”, Mutta says, smiling brightly at the crowd in front of the stage. “Sana Bakkoush is one of the most hardworking people i ever met. She took time out of her busy schedule to come back to Oslo to film a music video for our tiny band. The fame didn’t get to her head one bit and she is so much fun to hang out with.”

Mutta looks at Sana, who is smiling at him and blushing lightly: “Thank you for being you and being so supportive.”

Yousef agrees with every word Mutta said. Still, he finds himself glaring at Mutta. Shaking his head quickly Yousef collects himself. He’s in public, every single one of his moves will be judged and he can’t be glaring at his ‘ex’  fake girlfriend’s new potential boyfriend like that.

Once again, Adam who can’t stand still for too long, takes the microphone from Mutta. Before saying anything he looks at Sana, Yousef and Elias with a devilishly smile.

“So, since you’re all here with us, what about a little speech?”

He offers the microphone to Elias, who just looks away as if he hadn’t heard what Adam had just said. Then Adam points at Yousef who widens his eyes and bites his lip, he really doesn’t want to talk in public. Luckily for him, Adam has another thing in mind. With a smirk on his lips he looks at Sana and offers the microphone to her. Sana shakes her head slightly, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of giving a speech. But Sana is not as lucky as Yousef, and Adam is not alone in this.

Leaning over Elias, Mikael takes the microphone from Adam and says: “Come on Sana, after all the nice things Mutta has said about you, you have to talk and say some nice things about us.”

Yousef looks from Mikael, to the mic, to Sana and then to Mutta smiling at his friends. Mutta is really nice, this shouldn’t bother Yousef so much. But it does.

That’s why he reaches out and takes the microphone out of Mikael’s hand. Showing the people a charming smile Yousef turns to the band plus two of the Bakkoush siblings and does what Mikael wanted Sana to do.

“If you want to hear nice things about yourself you only have to ask.”, Yousef jokes and makes everyone in the room laugh. The only laughing person he sees is Sana though.

Looking at Mikael Yousef says: “When I first met you I didn’t really know what to expect because I had no idea what the music video would look like. But then Mikael showed us this choroegraphy he thought of. I love dancing and seeing that well thought through dance made me even more excited to be in the music video. So thank you Mikael for being the great mind behind that dance.”

Without the microphone, Adam just shouts: “His ego grows with every word.”

Yousef laughs at that and leaves his gaze on Adam.   
“Adam and I quickly bonded over nothing artistic, weirdly. I don’t know how that happened but the first conversation we had was about some football game that was on the day before. Adam is just a really great guy to talk to and he’s really funny. And even though he told me that he couldn’t really dance… after we shot the video it turned out that he could have danced my part very easily.”

Adam just grins at Yousef and blows him jokingly a kiss. Yousef shakes his head laughingly and then turns his gaze to the last member of the band. Mutta.  
Yousef looks from him to Sana and the imagine of that magazine cover comes to his mind instantly. Seeing his own face crossed out, Mutta’s circled. The way Mutta smiles at Sana and how he was so quick to help her just minutes ago. For a millisecond Yousef considers just passing the mic to Sana, letting her say nice things about him. That shouldn’t be too hard for her.

All those thought vanish when Mutta looks at Yousef once again and smiles. It’s one of those smiles where you know it’s genuine. Yousef knows Mutta is one of the nicest people ever. He can’t let his feeling for Sana come in the way of his friendship with Mutta.   
Yousef smiles back at Mutta. Sana who never took her eyes off Yousef in the past minutes starts smiling too.

“Well, Mutta … Mutta is an amazing friend. The whole time we were working on the video he made sure Sana and I had everything we needed. He brought us food even when we told him we were not hungry. And he is so nice. He always has something good to say, no matter how negative the rest of us were when things didn’t work out the way they should.”

Now, letting his eyes wander over the five other people on stage, Yousef smiles.   
“So, thank you Balloon Boys and Elias for letting us be a part of your music video.”

As every single time he’s in the same room as she is, Yousef’s eyes land on Sana. She’s smiling at him, showing the dimples Yousef loves. He smiles back and raises his eyebrows a little bit as he offers the microphone to her, giving her the choice to decide, never forcing it on her. He sees her hesitating. Yousef knows that, as tough as Sana looks, she really doesn’t like talking in public. But he also knows that she loves saying nice things about the people she cares about, so he’s pretty sure she has some things to say. He shows her a reassuring smile and nods slightly. Sana nods too and extends her hand to take the microphone from him. It’s just a second, maybe even less than that, but the moment their fingers touch, time stops for them. Sana inhales sharply. Yousef holds his breath. They’re both looking at their hands, both of them holding the microphone at the same time, neither of them letting go. Sana is the first one that looks up at him, it only takes a millisecond for Yousef to look up too. Now they’re both doing what they’re best at, staring at each other’s eyes. They must’ve been silent for too long because their moment is interrupted by Mutta, always Mutta, nudging Sana a little bit. The gesture is not unnoticed by Yousef, who quickly lets go of the microphone and turns to face the people, not wanting to see the rest of that scene. Sana shakes her head a little bit, trying to collect herself before speaking.

“Yeah, so, uhm….I’m not really good at speaking in front of people.” Sana says shyly.

“Says the world famous actress.” Adam, who by now has given up on taking the microphone to speak, shouts.

Sana rolls her eyes as everybody laughs. Shaking her head, she continues: “Well, Adam I was going to say some good things about each of you but yeah, I’m not so sure about that anymore.”

She looks at him and sees him pouting. Then she sees Mikael, who’s just laughing at the comment, clearly enjoying the fact that Adam is being dragged. Finally, she looks at Mutta who’s just smiling broadly at her. Sana’s lips curved into a smile, these boys mean a lot to her. Yes, they can be immature sometimes, but she wouldn’t change them for anything.

“I’m just…I’m so happy that I could be in this project, guys. It’s been an honor. Sure, I’ve done a lot of movies and stuff, and I always love the projects I’m in, but this…this has been very special to me. I’m so happy for you, you’re getting what you deserve. You’ve worked so hard for what you wanted. Even when some people didn’t believe in you. Even when some people would just see you as a tiny little boyband with a small project that wasn’t worth it. You just kept fighting and show all of that people that they were wrong. For some people this was a small project, something they didn’t care about. For me, this has been one of the greatest experiences I’ve had in my life. And that’s why I’m so grateful that you let me be part of it. Thank you guys, I wish you the best of the world.”

Sana finishes her small speech and smiles at each of the boys on stage individually.   
Then there is Yousef. At the end of the line. Looking at her with a small smile playing on his lips and his eyebrows lightly raised.

Sana grins at him, nodding very subtly but Yousef knows what it means. That ‘tiny project’ some people, especially a certain man, didn’t care enough about to let them keep pretending turned out to be more important than they could have thought it would.

Yousef answers with a smirk, tilting his head a bit to the side, not hiding his amusement. He shortly winks at Sana and presses his lips together to collect himself.

Sana is sure that she knows what he wants to tell her just with his looks. He knows what Sana did with that speech and he knows that Sana understands how much he approves of that.

With knowing smiles on their faces that they seem to have difficulties getting rid off, the two of them turn back to the four boys.

Elias sends Sana a confused look, raising one eyebrow higher than the other. Sana just shrugs and shakes her head with a smile.

Adam sends Yousef a teasing look, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Yousef just shrugs and shakes his head with a smile.

“Thank you for these kind words! But I think we should stop here and not be too narcissistic. This whole event is not just for us but for all the people that have helped us.”, Mutta says, looking through the hall. “And we’re being given the sign that we should get ready to perform the song that has brought us here in the first place.”

“But before that,” Adam intervenes “Since we have the stars of our video here, what do you say, do you want to see their dancing skills?”

“Oh, no, no, no, no…” Sana starts saying while shaking her head. There’s no way she’s dancing in front of all these people. There’s no way she’s doing it.

“Come on Sana, it’ll mean so much to us. You wouldn’t want to make us sad, would you?” Mikael says acting like he’s sad but clearly enjoying it.

Sana keeps shaking her head lightly until her gaze lands on Yousef. He raises his eyebrows questioningly. Sana knows that he wouldn’t mind. He is a great dancer, he probably remembers all the moves perfectly. Sana furrows her eyebrows and pouts lightly, not realizing she does that. Yousef just looks at her with a questioning look and waits. It’s her call. He’ll dance if she wants to. He won’t if she doesn’t want to.

Somehow, when she looks at Yousef and sees him smile at her like that, her doubts almost vanish into thin air. When she’s with Yousef she can do anything. He has helped her dance before, he would now too. Even after being apart for such a long time, seeing him now she still has no doubt about trusting him. Even after all the things that have happened since the last time they saw each other in person.

Sana doesn’t answer verbally. She doesn’t even look at anyone but Yousef and finally nods. What could go wrong? She could fall. But Yousef is there to catch her.

With two steps Sana is standing next to Yousef which Adam takes as a sign to continue.

“It’s happening, people! Sana Bakkoush and Yousef Acar are going to dance right there…”, he points to a spot right in front of the stage. People standing there immediately make room there. “And we will perform ‘Move Together’ now. I hope you enjoy!”

Elias knows he doesn’t want to be on stage singing or in front of it dancing so he quickly leaves the stage. Sana and Yousef slowly go to the edge of the stage and this time it’s Yousef who helps Sana. She shouldn’t have worn these shoes, Sana thinks.

Well, that thought is gone as soon as Yousef goes down the stairs and holds his hand out for Sana to take if she wants to. She doesn’t even think about it. She places her hand in his and feels the familiar warmth of whenever she holds his hands.

Neither of them lets go until they are standing at the exact spot Adam pointed at just a minute ago.

Yousef hands on Sana’s back, Sana’s hands on Yousef’s neck, they take their position.

Sana tries to look at Yousef, be an adult, concentrate. But she can’t do all of those things at the same time. If she looks at Yousef she won’t be able to concentrate at all. And messing up in front of all these people is not on her plan for today.

Still, even when she can’t bring herself to look at him before the dance starts she feels comfortable. His hands on her waist don’t feel foreign, they don’t feel intrusive, they just feel familiar. He doesn’t move them up or down, just lets them sit there.

Yousef holds his breath, very aware that this is the first time he sees Sana in weeks and now they are so close. Somehow, they both instantly went into the position in which the dance starts. Neither of them said anything, they just left the stage and it happened.Now Yousef tries to calm him breathing. It’s just Sana. The Sana that he fake-dated and developed real feeling for. But he can do it. He can. That’s what he tells himself.

Then the music starts. The boys start singing. Sana and Yousef start swaying gently from side to side.

Sana’s heart beats so fast that she fears Yousef can hear it.

Yousef hands shake slightly. He’s sure in his dancing abilities. He’s sure in Sana being able to do the dance. What he’s not sure about it that he can deal with being so close to Sana after not seeing her for so long. After wanting to see her every day but not being able to. After picking up his phone to call her a million times and shutting it off before he can do anything.

Then, one of Sana’s favorite parts is up.

Yousef will let him ‘fall’ towards Sana. She will push him back lightly.

While dancing, Yousef could laugh at the irony.   
He let himself fall for Sana and she pushed him back lighlty, being okay with the arrangement ending, not really objecting to it.  

Either way, when their eyes meet while doing this move, both of them find themselves smiling. At the countless rehearsals they never could get this move done without smiling. And they still can’t.

Yousef presses his lips together, trying to contain his smile. He tries to concentrate on the boys’ voices not on Sana’s touch. For the sake of not messing up.

He knows it’s coming. Even after not dancing to this song for a long time they remember the choreography perfectly. Both of them. Still. He gets surprised when Sana puts her hand on his cheek and ‘forces’ Yousef to look at her. It makes Yousef take a deep breath. He doesn’t even care how many cameras are filming him. The only thing he can concentrate, or try to concentrate, on is Sana. Sana moving effortlessly, Sana still letting him lead a little while dancing.

Like the very first time, the next moves catches Sana off guard. She knows it’s coming. She remembers every second of the rehearsals, she watched the music video one too many times when she missed Yousef. Still. She gets surprised when Yousef puts his hands on her waist and lift her effortlessly, like she doesn’t weigh a thing. Her hands on his shoulders, Yousef lets her down on her feet. Slowly. Slower than he should. Slower than it is intended. However, when he sees Sana’s content smile on her face, her eyes directly on Yousef, he forgets everything for a second.

The lifting moves don’t end there. Sana knows it. Yousef knows it. After one of the spinning moves where Sana only has her hands around Yousef’s neck and should feel very vulnerable, she doesn’t. She knows Yousef will hold her tightly enough. Just enough, not too much. The way he has always been towards her. Doing enough for Sana, sometimes more than enough, but never too much that she would feel uncomfortable.

Yousef leans a little lower, Sana a little higher and they rest their foreheads against each other. Sana’ breath catches in her throat. Staying like this wouldn’t be a good idea, she tries to convince herself. That thought doesn’t leave her mind for the next moments anyway.

Sana doesn’t think of it much. She lets herself fall backwards, let Yousef hold her. It feels natural, she thinks she is not scared. She can trust him. He won’t let her fall.   
Her mind goes back to this very moment in their first rehearsal.

“You don’t have to be afraid, I’m right here.”

He was right there. He is right here, now. He wasn’t in the past weeks.

“Do you trust me?”

She did. She does. Even know, after everything they lived through, she does.

“I won’t let you fall. Never.”

But he did. She fell for him. He promised he wouldn’t let her fall but she did.

The only thing that keeps Sana from falling now are Yousef’s hands on her back. Holding her. She looks up at him again. Sees him look at her with a small smile. But slighlty raising his eyebrows when Sana doesn’t push herself off the ground.

Why does he look so worried? He shouldn’t. He can’t. Sana can’t. She can’t do this.

Pushing Yousef away from herself, Sana stands up. Only one step away from him she shakes her head almost not noticeable.

The last thing she sees before running out of the room is Yousef’s confused, and hurt, look.

The cold air of the night should be enough to calm her down, at least a little bit. But it isn’t. Sana is as anxious as she was when she left the room.

Trying to breath evenly she starts pacing up and down the street, outside the front door of the building where the party is taking place. She opens and closes her hands, trying to relax, still not working. She closes her eyes but that’s even a worse idea because all she can see when she closes them is Yousef, Yousef looking at her. All she can hear is Yousef, Yousef’s voice asking her if she trusts him. And, if she focuses enough, she can even still feel his hands on her back. None of this is making her calm down.

Her mind is trying to find a way out. What should she do? She can’t stay there. But she can’t leave, either. She shouldn’t have left like that. Everyone is probably talking about her now. Tomorrow every magazine will have her face on their covers, ‘Sana Bakkoush runs away’. In about 10 minutes Twitter will be filled with comments about her, ‘Drama queen Sana Bakkoush can’t be in the same room as her ex-boyfriend’. She feels her chest tighten, her stomach sink, her hands sweating.

And then is when she hears him, and this time is not only in her head.

“Sana! Sana wait!”

She stops in the middle of the street and opens her eyes. There he is, Yousef, standing right in front of her. The previous hurt look on his face replaced by worry.

“Sana, are you okay?” he asks taking a step closer to her. When he sees her inhale sharply, he takes that same step back, giving her the space she clearly needs.

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Yousef. I’m sorry.” She’s panicking, she can’t stop apologizing.

“Sana, no. Don’t apologize. You have nothing to be sorry about. All that matters is that you’re okay. And you’re clearly not. What can I do to help you?”

Yousef is trying to give her space, he’s trying not to pressure but all he wants to do is pull her close to him and wrap his arms around her. He wants to hug her until she calms down. He wants to whisper that everything is going to be okay, that he’s with her, no matter what, that they’re together in this. But he knows he can’t do that, not anymore. And it’s killing him.

“Sana…please talk to me.” He almost begs, it breaks his heart seeing her like this.

“I’m sorry…I’m sorry.” Sana keeps saying.

Yousef tries to think. He tries to think of something that would make her feel better. Sana was the strong one in their relationship. She was the one that calmed him when he was feeling anxious. She was the one that was always there for him. Now it’s his turn. He thinks about all the times Sana has helped him, everything she’s done for him. And suddenly, something comes to his mind.

“Let’s get out of here.”

He takes a few steps forward and places his hand on hers.

Sana looks up at him a little bit startled at first. She then looks back at their intertwined hands. It’s funny how the cold air of the night didn’t do anything to calm her down, and yet, the moment she feels Yousef’s touch, Sana can breathe again.

Yousef opens the door,  lets Sana walk in before he does and closes the door behind him. This time it’s him that goes to turn on the lights, the one to look around if everything is the way he has left it behind.

Sana’s worry line between her eyebrows that has not disappeared the whole way here, vanished as soon as she saw which building the cab stopped at.

Looking around the roof, ‘her’ roof, Sana smiles to herself. She missed this place. She really did.

“Why did we come here?”, Sana turns to Yousef and asks him. He’s standing, leaning at the banister, looking at Sana with a fond smile.

He pushes himself off the banister and shrugs as if it is no big deal.   
“Well, a very clever girl had brought me here when things got too much for me. So I thought it might be a good idea now.”

Sana smiles, and then presses her lips together and raises her eyebrows at him. Or rather at the playful little smirk that is playing on his lips. She shakes her head at him and turns to look at the horizon. But her eyes catch something that make her turn right back.

“Are those bluebells?”, Sana asks, her eyes wide.

She points at a bundle of flowers, that look like they have been put here just recently. She didn’t bring them here. If she did these flowers would have died already

Yousef puts his hands in the pockets of his jeans and nods with a small smile.

Sana walks over to the table and picks up the bundle. She takes a single bluebell and can’t help herself and smiles brightly. She loves these flowers. Now more than ever, probably.

Then something comes to her mind. She looks up quickly and tilts her head suspiciously .

“Yousef, have you been here lately?”

Now Yousef takes a few steps closer and finally finds his place at the other side of the small table Sana is standing at. He picks up one of the flowers and turns it in his hands.

“Yeah.”, he looks up from the flower and looks at something, someone even more beautiful. “Why haven’t you?”

What he wants to say is: I’ve been coming here regularly. Hoping to see you here too. To bump into you. Even hoping to have a short moment with you when one of us is awkwardly trying to leave as soon as the other arrives.

But all he can do is smile. Smile at the beautiful girl standing right in front of him now. The fairy lights reflecting in her pretty brown eyes.   
He sees Sana put down the flower she had in her hand on the table. He reaches out, takes that one and puts it together with the one he is holding and creates a very small bouquet and holds it out to Sana.

Sana has been observing what he’s doing, silently, and now can’t stop herself from smiling. Her dimples showing, she takes the flowers from his hand and threads them through her hijab.

Yousef’s eyes follow Sana’s moves. His lips curve into a smile when he sees her wearing his flowers. Sana looks up at him and for a moment they just stand there, staring at each other.

Their little moment is interrupted by Sana’s phone beeping. She frowns a little, asking herself who that could be, as she takes her phone and unlocks it. It’s a text.

Yousef sees how Sana smiles as soon as she reads the text from whoever it is. He feels conflicted. On the one hand if Sana is smiling, he’s smiling. On the other hand, he has a pretty good idea about who sent her that text. He tries, he really tries, not to sound bitter as he says the next words:

“Is that Mutta?”

Sana’s head snaps up really quickly. She frowns and presses her lips together.

“No, it’s Elias. He wants to know if I’m okay. I told him I’m with you.” She explains.

Yousef curses himself, could he be any more obvious? He nods at Sana’s explanation and walks over to the banister, leaning against it.

Sana follows him and takes the place right next to him. She’s far from being done with that conversation.

“Why did you think that it was Mutta?”

There’s no going back now. He asked and now he has to keep going. He takes a few seconds to form a sentence. Even if he was the one asking in the first place, he really doesn’t want to have this conversation. Out of sight, out of mind, right? Yeah, that doesn’t work with Sana Bakkoush.

“Oh…you know…because you and him…I mean…the magazine….” Well, maybe ‘form a sentence’ wasn’t exactly what Yousef did. He basically stutters while talking.

“No, no, no, no, no…No. Just…no” Sana keeps repeating looking at Yousef with wide eyes. “Not at all. Just…”

“No?” Yousef finishes the sentence for her.

“There’s nothing between Mutta and me. Nothing at all.” She says the last words looking at Yousef eyes, she needs to make sure that he understands it. Even if he’s with someone else, even if he really doesn’t care about Sana’s love life, even if he just asked because he’s being polite. Sana needs Yousef to know that she’s not, and she’ll never be, with Mutta.

“But that magazine…”

“That magazine that said you had cheated on me when a) you didn’t and b) we weren’t even dating? That’s the magazine you’re talking about?” Sana says half amused, half offended. He should know better than to believe everything he reads. Then again, she believed, believes, something that same magazine said.

“I don’t know…I thought that maybe they were telling the truth, for once.” Yousef says. He doesn’t want to sound as relieved as he is, but he completely fails. He swears he may have even sighed a little bit while talking. He definitely feels like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

“Were they? Telling the truth…when they said that you…that you and that girl…” Sana doesn’t want to finish that question because the moment she does, the truth will be out, and she may not like it at all.

“No!” Yousef says maybe a little too much enthusiastic. He collects himself and continues: “No, there’s nothing, nothing, between that girl and me. We’re just colleagues, we just did a campaign together, that’s all. There’s nothing between us. I swear. Nothing at all.”

“Okay, okay, I get it. I get it.” Sana says smiling. She’s really missed Yousef’s rants. She loves seeing him rambling. Well, there a very few things Sana doesn’t love about Yousef.

Yousef blushes a little bit, noticing how he’s got too carried away, something that always happens to him when he’s around Sana. But he needs her to know that he’s not with anyone. Even if it was just Sana’s way to make conversation. Even if it was just Sana’s way to prove a point. He needs her to know.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Sana says with a playful smirk. “I’m glad to know that you weren’t “over me” that fast” She makes a gesture with her fingers as she says ‘over me’ to show that she’s just joking. What Yousef doesn’t know is that she’s not joking at all.

“Of course. I don’t think anyone could be over you that fast, or at all.” He says in the same joking tone Sana used. What Sana doesn’t know is that he’s not joking at all.

“So…have you missed me? Even if it’s just a little?” She asks bumping her shoulder against his playfully.

Yousef looks at her completely serious, it makes Sana fear what he’s about to say.

“I’ve missed you so much.” He admits. And maybe they can both pretend this is just a part of this game they’re both playing, but deep inside, they know Yousef means every single word.

“I’ve missed you too.” Sana finds herself saying before she can stop herself. It’s not possible for her to look at Yousef and not say the truth.

For a few minutes, or maybe seconds, but it definitely feels like hours, they just stare at each other. Shy smiles on their lips. It’s not an awkward silence. It’s never been awkward between them. Not in a long time. They can hear the cars in the distance, they can feel the cold air of the night on their faces. But none of that matters. What matters is that they’re together, again. What matters is that for the first time in a really long time everything feels right.

Yousef is the first one that speaks.

“You know…we never got to finish that dance.”

Sana looks at Yousef with her eyebrows raised while he takes his phone out of his pocket, scrolls for a moment and walks over to the table again. He sets the phone down on it and before he presses play, he reaches out, holding his hand out to Sana.

She eyes his extended hand but doesn’t even have to think. Her feet move on their own, leading Sana right to Yousef. She places her hand in his, which makes both people on this roof smile their biggest smiles.

Then Yousef presses play.

Sana knows what she has to do. So does Yousef.

They hug and slowly sway from side to side. Sana rest her head on Yousef’s chest. Yousef rests his chin on Sana’s shoulder.

Sana smiles to herself when she can feel how fast Yousef heart is beating, he probably can feel that her heart beats almost faster than his.

Sana feels safe in his arm. Yousef feels extremely happy to be able to hold Sana like this. To be able to dance with her like this.

They’ve danced every single move a billion times. In rehearsals. One time in Yousef’s backyard just to be sure they are secure in their moves for the shoot on the next day. On their own in their homes when they missed the other one.

Yousef could do this dance with his eyes closed. Sana would let him lead even if he had his eyes closed.

The close proximity with the jumps, when Yousef lets Sana back on her feet, when he lifts her like it’s nothing. How is it possible that they both hold their breath, but feel like they are desperately trying to get some air in between moves? How is it that Sana doesn’t realize that she is barely holding onto Yousef’s neck when he spins her? How is that Yousef doesn’t want this song to ever end and feels like it’s going too fast while feeling like time stops when he dances with Sana?

They reach the part. The part that they didn’t finish just a short while ago. The part that makes both of them feel like they’re going to faint any second.

Sana lets herself fall back, Yousef being the only reason why she’s not lying on the floor now. His hands resting on her back, holding her up, making her look at him.

Yousef looks into Sana’s eyes. Sana looks into Yousef’s eyes. They both take a deep breath. Not because any of them is unsure of this move. No. Because the intensity of what they feel only gets bigger.

When Sana doesn’t push off her feet off the ground, when she doesn’t do anything but looking at Yousef, they both smile.

Yousef never looks away, not even for a second. If he could, he even would just stay like this.

“Do you trust me?”, he whispers.

The music is forgotten. Neither of them hears it. They don’t hear the cars in the distance. They don’t hear anything but each other breathing.

Sana stares into Yousef’s eyes. If she could, she would just stay like this.

“Always.”, Sana whispers.

At the same time the dance partners smile at each other and Sana pushes herself off the ground. Yousef holds her securely,and Sana lands on her feet, not even a step away from Yousef. She can feels his breath on her face, they’re so close.

Both their chest rise and fall quickly, Sana’s one hand in Yousef’s, the other on his shoulder. Neither of them moving.

Yousef looks at Sana and is awe. He always is when he looks at her. Right now, right now there is only one thought on his mind.

“I love you.” he just blurts out.

Sana widens her eyes and unintentionally takes a step back, letting go of Yousef’s hand.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t planning on telling you like this. I wasn’t planning on telling you at all.” Yousef explains trying to hide the fact that his heart broke a little bit with Sana’s step back. He sees her opening her mouth to say something and interrupts her. “You don’t have to say anything. I just…I need to let it out and then you can go if you want, you can stop talking to me if that’s what you want just please…hear me out.”

He pauses for a few seconds and when Sana only looks at him he continues.

“I love you, Sana. I’m in love with you. I don’t…I don’t really know when that happened, if it was while we were in our fake relationship, if it was during our coffee breaks, if it was the first day of filming or even if it was the first moment I laid eyes on you. All I know is that I fell in love with you. I…our relationship…it wasn’t fake to me, it never was, Sana. I was the happiest guy alive, being with you. Every time I’d see you smiling, and knowing that I was the reason for it, it just…I don’t even know how to express it with words. All I know is that those months we were together were the best months of my life. And when we broke up…I…it crashed me, Sana. Being apart from you, only knowing about you from the press, seeing you moving on, being afraid of calling you…it killed me. I know this is too much to process, I know that you were only following your agent’s instructions but for me…it was more than that, it was everything. I know I’m probably being selfish right now, this is the last thing you needed tonight but I just couldn’t let you go again, not without you knowing how I feel. I love you Sana. I love you.”

Once he’s finished, he takes a deep breath. All this time he’s been looking at her but right now he can’t do that anymore. He doesn’t want to see her reaction, he doesn’t want to see her disapproval look in her face. So Yousef just looks at the floor, hoping that the next words that come out of Sana’s mouth aren’t ‘I hate you’.

“Yousef…I…” he hears her saying. And that’s enough to make him look at her.

“You don’t have to say anything, you really don’t have to say anything at all.” He’s almost begging her not to say anything. He just needed to let it all out. “I just…I hope that you let me be part of your life, just as a friend, just as an acquaintance. But…if you don’t want to see me again, I’ll understand.”

Sana follows every single word that comes out of Yousef’s mouth closely. She feels her chest tighten, in a positive way and she didn’t know that that was even possible. She sees Yousef try to form his thoughts into sentences and she sees how much it means to him to get everything off his chest.

He doesn’t want her to say anything. Not now. She can’t anyway. Couldn’t tell him what she’s thinking or feeling even if she wanted. Not now.

“Okay.”, is all she can say. Okay, that she won’t say anything else for now. Okay, that she won’t push him away and okay that he can definitely be a part of her life.

Yousef’s head snaps towards Sana and his eyes widen. He understands what Sana means with that single Okay and he starts grinning. Sana does the same.

Neither of the two know how long they have been standing there. Just looking at each other with happy smiles on their faces. Silently agreeing that that is all either of them wants in this moment.

Not much later they sit down. Not on the chairs Sana had brought to the roof a long time ago, not on the banister but on the floor. They rest their backs against the banister, Sana’s legs propped up to her chest, Yousef’s legs sprawled out in front of him. They’re listening to the sounds in the distance, being content with just sitting next to each other.

“My parents asked how you’re doing.”

Sana is the one to break the silence. It was not uncomfortable, not at all. She just remembered and thought she could tell him.

Yousef turns his head to Sana, leaning it on the wall behind him.   
Raising his eyebrows in surprise he asks: “Yeah? They don’t hate me?”

Sana quickly shakes her head. Yousef almost laughs at the look on her face. As if what he said is not even imaginable.

“No, they don’t! Not at all. They know that cheating thing was just a stupid rumour.”, then in a camer voice, Sana adds, “They really liked you.”

Yousef smiles to himself and looks down on the floor. When he looks up he answers her with a smile.

“My parents have missed you.”

Sana laughs and tilts her head lightly. “Yeah?”

Yousef chuckles softly and nods. “Yeah. They really liked you. They said I would never have a better relationship than the one I had with you.”

Yousef remembers that conversation. His parents were almost as affected by the break up as he was. Yousef plays with the hem of his shirt. He can’t look at Sana now. He already poured out his heart to her. He can’t look at her like the way he wants to.

“Then we’ll make them happy…”, Sana says. Yousef looks up at her, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion. Sana continues: “When we tell them that we’re together again.”

Yousef’s confused look get even stronger, he’s not understanding anything.

“When we tell them, what?”

Sana presses her lips together, trying so hard not to laugh. She knows she’s being kind of mean to him right now, but she can’t help it. Still, she doesn’t want to make him suffer anymore so she takes a deep breath and smiles.

“I’m in love with you too, Yousef. I love you.”

It takes him a few seconds to process Sana’s words. If there was something he didn’t expect tonight was having Sana Bakkoush saying that she loves him.

“You…love me?” He asks hesitantly. He wants to be sure he’s heard her well. He wants to be sure this is not a dream. He wants to be sure his mind is not tricking him.

“Yes. I love you. I…I’m not as good as you with romantic speeches but I’m going to try.” She takes a deep breath and continues, smiling as her mind goes back to the first time she saw him: “I was so mad at you when we first met. Well, not at you, at your character. You know I never wanted a love interest for my character. But then, there you were, you with your messy hair, your dorky smile and your big heart. I tried so hard not to feel anything for you, I tried to be professional, I tried to convince myself that there was nothing between us. But as I got to know you I realized that I couldn’t stop myself from feeling, that even if I wanted to, I just couldn’t. And I…I fell for you Yousef. I don’t know when, I don’t know where, I don’t know why. All I know is that I fell for you and by the time I realized it, it was too late to go back. It wasn’t fake to me either, it was real, it was the most real thing I’ve ever had. And these past few weeks have been the worst of my life. I don’t really know what else to tell you…just that…I love you. I want you to be part of my life, and not only as a friend or as a acquaintance. I want you to be part of my life as my partner, as my boyfriend…a real one this time.”

“And you say you’re not good at romantic speeches…” Yousef whispers still trying to process Sana’s words. He’s been listening really carefully to everything she’s said, trying to convince himself that this is it, that this is real. Sana Bakkoush loves him. His feelings are not one-sided.

Sana laughs and shakes her head. She really wasn’t planning on saying as many things as she just did, but once she started she just couldn’t stop herself.

None of them are looking at each other now. Instead, their eyes are focused on the other side of the roof.

For a moment they stay in silence, letting the words sink in.

A thought comes to Yousef’s mind and he finds himself smiling.

“Does this mean that Sana Bakkoush needs a love interest in her life?” He tilts his head and looks at her.

She chuckles and faces him, eyes narrowed. “No.” she says, serious at first, smiling as she continues: “This means Sana Bakkoush wants you, Yousef Acar, as her love interest.”

Yousef grins widely at her. Sana imitates him.

She thought she knew what happiness felt like, now she’s sure she does. This is happiness.

He thought he couldn’t love her more than he already did, now he knows he was wrong. He loves her even more now.

Yousef wraps an arm around Sana’s shoulders and brings her close. She leans her head against his shoulder, the smile never leaving her lips.

“That can be arranged.” he says. Then he places a soft kiss on her head. “That can definitely be arranged.”

* * *

last chapter. Stay tuned for a little surprise tomorrow


	15. EPILOGUE

**JUNE 2017**

**JULY 2017**

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**AUGUST 2017**

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**SEPTEMBER 2017**

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**OCTOBER 2017**

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**NOVEMBER 2017**

…

…

…

….

**DECEMBER 2017**

…

…

…

…

…

**JANUARY 2018**

**FEBRUARY 2018**

**MARCH 2018**

…

**APRIL 2018**

…

…

**MAY 2018**

…

…

…

…

**JUNE 2018**

…

…

…

…

…

**…**

…

…

…

…

(Credit: [@skambane](https://tmblr.co/mqEjnKiGImv3BKUbjX1YEoQ) )

**JULY 2018**

**AUGUST 2018**

**SEPTEMBER 2018**

…

**OCTOBER 2018**

**NOVEMBER 2018**

…

**DECEMBER 2018**

**JANUARY 2019**

…

…

…

…

…

**FEBRUARY 2019**

**MAY 2019**

**…**

…

**JULY 2019**

…

…

…

* * *

**THE END**


End file.
